WPP Announces Major Restructuring
Global advertising group WPP has announced a sweeping restructure, dubbed “Elevate28,” amid falling revenues. The plan aims to simplify operations and achieve £500 million in annualized cost savings. The initiative will consolidate business units and prioritize the acceleration of AI-led transformation and data-driven marketing services.
The "Elevate28" plan, led by new CEO Cindy Rose, is a direct response to a significant financial downturn. WPP's 2025 revenue (less pass-through costs) fell by 5.4%, and its statutory operating profit plummeted by over 70%, prompting a dividend cut of more than 60%. The company's stock had fallen to levels not seen since 1998, lagging behind competitors like Publicis and Omnicom, which have been reporting revenue growth. Rose stated that WPP's underperformance was driven by "excessive organisational complexity" and the firm will no longer operate as a traditional holding company. The new vision is to function as a "single company," moving away from a structure that Rose said created fragmentation instead of a shared culture. The restructuring will consolidate the business into four core units: WPP Media, WPP Creative, WPP Production, and WPP Enterprise Solutions. This move involves merging iconic agency brands such as Ogilvy, VML, and AKQA under the single umbrella of WPP Creative. Central to this integration is WPP's AI platform, WPP Open, which will connect data, creative, and production workflows across all four new divisions. WPP is investing £300 million annually in AI and technology through the platform and has also announced a strategic partnership with generative AI leader Stability AI. The plan will be executed in phases: stabilization in 2026, a return to growth in 2027, and accelerated growth from 2028 onward. Achieving the £500 million in savings is projected to cost around £400 million in restructuring expenses over two years. This overhaul will have a significant impact on the workforce. WPP's headcount already decreased by 8.7% over the past year, a reduction of over 9,000 employees, with further job cuts expected as duplicate roles are eliminated.
