PORTLAND, Ore. — The city's best-known advertising agency has laid off 90 workers in Portland.
The layoffs, first reported by the trade publications Advertising Age and Advertising Week, affected 20% of the Wieden+Kennedy staff.
“Layoffs are terrible. There’s no way to sugarcoat it," said Jason White, president of W+K Portland. "But, we’ve gotten to a place in Portland where we need to make changes to align better with how our clients work. Saying goodbye to any of our people is always a last resort, and we never make that decision lightly. Our focus right now is supporting everyone through this transition.”
Advertising Age reported that the agency employed 440 employees in Portland. The agency told Advertising Week the move is "designed to better align the needs of the business with client scopes."
The agency, which had launched a campaign to help revitalize Portland last fall, remains committed to Portland, where Dan Wieden and David Kennedy started the firm.
"Wieden+Kennedy Portland is here to stay," White said in an email. "Portland represents who we are and why we exist. Nobody thought a little shop in the middle of nowhere could change advertising until Dan and Dave did. We are restructuring to ensure we remain at the very center of creativity in this city for years to come."
From its Oregon perch, Wieden+Kennedy became known for its inventive Nike ads, which helped propel the Portland-area apparel company toward becoming the $50 billion company it is today.
The Portland campaign, called "Portland Is What We Make It," will continue, according to the spokesperson.
Along with Portland, Wieden+Kennedy operates offices in Amsterdam, New York, Tokyo, London, Shanghai, Delhi and Mumbai.
This story is courtesy of KGW's news partner Portland Business Journal. Read their full story here.
