AdWeek: Burnett Prepares to Trim 25 From U.S. Staff

There was once a job security advantage in working for a major ad firm, the size somewhat insulating employees from the threat of lay-offs. That started to change in the 1980s, as massive agency consolidation and public ownership put new pressures on bottom lines and shorter term goals. Leo Burnett was one of the last great independent behemoths, but even it - while still privately held - saw its first round of major lay-offs in 1993. There have been several since, but today the firm - now owned by Publicis - intends to lay off 25 employees not because business is bad or because the firm lost an account, but instead merely for "efficiencies."

Such firings - if targeted properly - tend to help firms regenerate new and more vibrant talent, but it does signify an abrogation of an implied social contract from long ago; that workers owe a great deal of loyalty to the firm in exchange for a quid pro quo of job security. Burnetters are widely known for their frequent, and sometimes grating, habit of quoting pithy remarks from long-dead firm founder Leo as a sign of their enthusiastic fidelity to the philosophy of the firm. Firm recruiters sent off to college campuses told student audiences in the 90s that Burnett remained one of the last bastions of family firms - a place where a new recruit could spend his or her entire career. While Burnett's client mix of relatively few but very large brands insulates the agency from much volatility, it appears to be a bastion no more.