WPP to Cut Up to 1,000 More Jobs by Year-End, FT Reports

WPP, Britain’s largest advertising group, plans to cut up to 1,000 additional jobs by the end of the year as it accelerates a sweeping restructuring under new chief executive Cindy Rose, the Financial Times reported.

WPP shares have declined more than 4% on Tuesday.

According to the FT, the latest reduction forms part of a broader overhaul aimed at streamlining WPP’s operations and adapting to a rapidly changing advertising landscape increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.

The newspaper reported that the company is folding creative agencies including Ogilvy, VML and AKQA into a single unit known as “WPP Creative,” a move designed to consolidate resources and prevent clients from turning to AI tools to build campaigns in-house.

The planned cuts add to a wave of job losses at WPP over the past year, which has already seen headcount fall by more than 6,000 employees. The company confirmed in its half-year results this month that it eliminated 1,267 roles in the first six months of 2026 alone, reducing its workforce by 1.3% to 97,388 staff, as part of a drive to save £500 million annually by 2028.

Cindy Rose, a former Microsoft executive who took charge of WPP in September, has been pushing to revive the group’s fortunes after a turbulent period that saw WPP relegated from the FTSE 100 in December 2025 and overtaken by rival Publicis as the world’s largest advertising group by revenue.

WPP shares surged as much as 30% following its half-year results, as investors welcomed signs of a turnaround, even as the company continues to grapple with declining client budgets and account losses.