MediaMath to cut 8% of workforce amidst COVID-19

MediaMath is reportedly laying off 8% of its employees and also implementing a 10% salary cut amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Quoting MediaMath president Konrad Gerszke, Adweek said the adtech company is preparing to weather the uncertain times as the pandemic poses "a profound impact" on all economic activity.

Gerszke added that it is also taking steps to build up its position for the long haul. This includes shifting the focus of its recruitment efforts to "critical positions only", cutting expenses and compensation, as well as decreasing roles "as necessary", he explained. 

He also said that this is "a time of profound change", with companies reviewing their ad spend due to changes in spending habits and shifts in media consumption, Adweek added. Marketing has reached out to MediaMath for comment on whether employees in Asia Pacific will be impacted. MediaMath first launched its regional office in Singapore in 2014 to further expand into the Asia Pacific market. The company said then that Asia Pacific was “one of the fastest-growing marketers globally” and dubbed Singapore the “hub” for the region’s digital advertising industry. Globally, the company has about 750 employees, according to its website and some of its clients include Kimberly-Clark, Sizmek, Ogilvy and Dentsu Mobius.

The news comes shortly after travel adtech firm Sojern laid off 50% of its global workforce due to the impact of COVID-19 on the travel and aviation sector. A quick check by Marketing previously found that staff based in Singapore and Hong Kong were also impacted and laid off. These include staff across the sales and marketing departments. MediaMath and Sojern are not the only adtech firms to be affected by COVID-19. Criteo announced on 1 April that revenue for the first quarter of 2020 is expected to be negatively impacted by US$9 to US$10 million, bringing the revenue to a range of US$204 million to US$206 million.

To manage the impact, Criteo has frozen all hiring and travel expenses globally, and is taking several additional cost containment measures. They include reductions in hosting costs, marketing spend, third-party services, and internal events, among others.

Related articles:
MediaMath partners White Ops to guard against fraud in programmatic advertising
Grapeshot and MediaMath integrate capabilities
Marketers defer planned campaigns but create new COVID-19 ones
5 things brands can consider during the lockdown period
Publishers and agencies in Asia tackle brand safety amidst COVID-19
Pitches going virtual: Can you still ace the chemistry test?