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WPP profits dive as clients cut ad spending amid Trump's tariffs
The Guardian
|August 08, 2025
Clients including carmakers and consumer goods companies are cutting their advertising spending amid Donald Trump's tariffs rollout, WPP said yesterday as it reported a 71% slump in profits.
The advertising agency, formerly the largest in the world, has cut its global workforce from 111,000 last year to 104,000 as of the end of June as it struggles with weak spending and the rise of artificial intelligence.
WPP's pre-tax profit dropped by 71% to £98m in the first half of its financial year. It has also halved its interim dividend to 7.5p a share before a strategic review that will be led by its incoming chief executive, Cindy Rose. She will take over from Mark Read on 1 September.
This story is from the August 08, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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