NEW DELHI: As the Japan-based global giant Dentsu International reels from the Covid2019-induced economic slowdown, it is planning to cut around 6,000 overseas jobs, several media reports indicated. It is expecting to end the next fiscal year in the red too.
As per a Financial Times article, Dentsu headquarters has created a £640 million restructuring programme, which will involve redundancies and brand consolidation. It also highlighted that about 230 people in its Japan office have applied for early retirement.
In addition to the pandemic, Dentsu had made considerable investments in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and the event’s postponement has severely impacted the company’s financials, with reports estimating a $30 billion hit.
Earlier this year, Dentsu International had consolidated its brand agencies into six global brands.
At that time, Dentsu group president and CEO Toshihiro Yamamoto had said, “We simply have too many brands, almost 300 across both Japan and internationally. This radical new structure will be more logical and transparent for our clients, enabling us to serve them better. It will also be operationally more efficient and allow the firm to reduce costs significantly.”
Dentsu acquired UK-based Aegis Network in 2013, leading to the subsequent establishment of Dentsu Aegis Network, representing the global operations of the group, outside Japan, in 2014.