Edelman, a leading public relations firm, is laying off 330 employees, representing over 5% of its global workforce, as part of a restructuring initiative aimed at “simplifying” the company’s business model. This marks the largest headcount reduction for the firm in years. The restructuring will also involve the closure of several specialized units, including Edible (focused on food), Revere (for startups and innovation), Salutem (health), Mustache (integrated creative agency), EGA (government affairs and geopolitics), and Delta (brand and strategy consulting).
CEO Richard Edelman explained the strategic shift in a blog post, emphasizing that the firm has been pursuing two primary goals in recent years: building advisory capabilities to compete with specialized firms in areas like financial, public affairs, and employee engagement, while simultaneously growing its marketing business with an emphasis on earned creative that resonates with the creator economy. The company had previously organized these advisory services into distinct boutiques and assigned creative teams to work on dedicated projects.
However, Edelman noted a change in market demand, with clients now seeking a more integrated approach that combines specialist services into a larger, more cohesive firm. This restructuring aims to provide faster access to Edelman’s global reach, deep industry expertise, and creative solutions. The goal is to tackle complex challenges by aligning corporate affairs, marketing, and government affairs more closely on the client side.
While the majority of specialty brands will be discontinued, a few will remain, including Smithfield, which will continue as a corporate and financial communications consultancy—a unique offering among global firms with expertise in mergers and acquisitions.
This restructuring comes after a difficult year for Edelman, with losses or budget cuts from major clients like Adobe, Sunkist, Florida Citrus, and DMI. Additionally, several senior executives, including Susan Isenberg and Karmen Johnson (CEOs of Edible and Salutem, respectively), as well as other high-level leaders, have left the firm.
Edelman attributes the shift to evolving client needs, such as the intersection of corporate affairs, government affairs, and marketing, to address trends like geopolitics and the growing challenge of disinformation. The firm’s new strategy reflects a centralized, integrated approach to managing these complex global issues.
