Omnicom’s IPG takeover sparks deep cuts to benefits, PTO, and severance: Report

Omnicom’s acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG) has led to reductions across employee benefits packages for U.S. staff, alongside widespread layoffs and agency restructuring. Adweek has reported. The findings come from internal handbooks and benefits documents obtained by the publication, as well as interviews with former IPG employees reacting to the changes.

According to the report, the most significant shift is in retirement benefits. IPG’s predictable 401(k) structure, which offered a steady match each pay period, has been replaced with a discretionary annual match from Omnicom, leaving employees uncertain about what they will receive and when.

Cuts extend beyond financial benefits. The report notes that IPG’s extensive time-off policies, including unlimited PTO in many agencies, holiday-week closures, wellness days, and additional observances, have been replaced by a fixed allotment of 10 to 15 vacation days. Former IPG employees estimate this results in more than a 60% drop in days off. A policy withholding holiday pay if vacation is taken adjacent to a holiday has also raised concerns.

Parental leave has also been reduced. What was once a flexible system that could allow up to six months of combined leave at IPG has been cut to 10 weeks of continuous paid leave under Omnicom, according to the review of internal documents.

Healthcare is another area where employees say costs are rising and options are narrowing. The report notes that workers are being moved to a set of Aetna plans that they describe as more expensive with less favourable coverage structures than those previously offered at IPG.

A return-to-office mandate, requiring three days a week with an aim to move to five, marks another major cultural shift, with Adweek noting that noncompliance can affect raises, promotions, and even severance eligibility.

Severance terms themselves have tightened significantly. IPG’s structure, which could offer long-tenured employees upward of 20–30 weeks of pay, has been replaced with a system that caps severance at 12 weeks. Additionally, many employees reportedly interpret the new policies as part of a strategy to encourage voluntary departures, following the 4,000 layoffs already confirmed across the combined company.

Some workers told the publication that morale is low, particularly among younger employees who have faced repeated rounds of layoffs across the industry, and conversations around unionisation have resurfaced as a result.