The cost-cutting hitting many companies in other industries came to the event marketing business this week. International marketing firm Jack Morton Worldwide laid off employees in several markets and divisions on Wednesday to cope with the economic climate.
In a statement sent to BizBash last night, Jack Morton chairman and C.E.O. Josh McCall said, "These actions are consistent with actions we know are being taken by other agencies in our competitive sector and throughout the marketing services industry. We are a strong and enduring agency that will navigate through these challenging times and do what it takes to maintain our industry leadership position."
A spokesperson for the company wouldn't divulge which divisions were most affected by the crunch or exactly how many staffers were let go—only that it was a "small portion" of the approximately 600 employees. However, one source said that Morton event design group PDG may have been hit particularly hard, and that only president Jim Fenhagen and a handful of junior staffers remain after Wednesday's layoffs.
Update: A Jack Morton spokesperson assured us the cuts to the PDG division were not as significant as previously reported: "There were minor cuts. Mostly junior staff. Has no effect on current or future projects."
