WPP axes jobs in cost-cutting efforts to drive profit recovery

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Advertising and marketing giant WPP cut more jobs over the first half of 2026 in a bid to drive a recovery in profits amid a growth in firms using artificial intelligence (AI).

The London-based company told shareholders on Thursday that it had reduced its total number of employees by 1,267 over the first six months of the year.

It said the reduction, which affected 1.3% of its workforce, left it with 97,388 staff at the end of June.

The group has seen its headcount plunge by more than 6,000 over the past year after efforts to sharply bring down its staffing costs.

Bosses said the company reduced staff costs by 5.9% to £3.47 billion for the first half of this year, compared with a year earlier.

Earlier this year, WPP said it expected to cut job numbers and potentially sell assets to simplify its operations, as it targets £500 million of annual savings by 2028.

The group said pre-tax profits were 7.7% lower at £277 million for the half-year despite recent cost-cutting.

WPP said that revenue less pass-through costs, the group’s preferred sales measure, declined by 5.6% to £4.75 billion for the half-year.

The drop came as the group revealed that like-for-like revenues from the telecoms, media and entertainment sector fell by 14.8%.

It also revealed a 13.4% slump from financial services clients and a 9.2% decline from the technology sector.

The group has been investing in technology and AI to help boost its performance, deploying its Open Intelligence AI-power data service.

In the latest quarter, the company also expanded strategic technology and data partnerships with Google, Meta, and AWS to link generative AI tools into its platforms.

Cindy Rose, chief executive of WPP, said: “I am encouraged by our first-half performance which is in line with our expectations.

“While legacy account losses continue to weigh, the second quarter saw a further sequential improvement in like-for-like growth, highlighting the momentum we are building across the company and demonstrating that our strategy to become the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands is beginning to deliver.”

Shares surged by 23% in early trading as investors welcomed the update.