LONDON (Brand Republic) 鈥 The chairman and chief executive of US advertising agency holding company True North Communications has warned that jobs could be cut after its FCB Worldwide agency lost its biggest client, car manufacturer DaimlerChrysler, to rival Omnicom Group鈥檚 BBDO Worldwide.
David Bell said that, although he was looking to replace Chrysler with another big automotive account very quickly, jobs could be on the line. Some True North staff will move to Omnicom with the account, but Bell said the restructuring was still under discussion with DaimlerChrysler.
Speculation that Toyota is looking for a new agency other than incumbent Saatchi & Saatchi is unfounded.
Bell gave a strong hint that True North could be up for sale, saying it was 鈥渙pen to strategic opportunities鈥.
True North鈥檚 uncertain future comes after the Chrysler arm of DaimlerChrysler said last week that it had chosen BBDO Worldwide to take on its whole ad strategy instead of sharing it with FCB Worldwide after a two-month review to find the most efficient agency.
The loss of the Chrysler account means True North is down $140m in annual billings -鈥 9% of its total.