WPP job cuts delayed turnaround by 2–3 years, insiders say

For HR and workforce strategy leaders, the WPP filings are a cautionary tale about restructuring without true process redesign. A former GroupM CFO's assessment—layoffs as the only real change, compounding problems while delaying growth by two to three years—raises hard questions about workforce planning, retention, and psychological safety.

Newly filed exhibits in the wrongful termination lawsuit brought by former WPP executive Richard Foster offer a rare insider post-mortem of the advertising holding company's stalled turnaround. Digiday reports that 13 former WPP executives were interviewed as part of the amended complaint, and their accounts center on the long-promised GroupM simplification effort and an alleged kickback operation in the media investment arm. The filings are legal documents rather than independent findings of fact, but they provide unusually granular claims about why one of the world's largest advertising groups has struggled to regain growth.

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Newly filed exhibits in the wrongful termination lawsuit brought by former WPP executive Richard Foster offer a rare insider post-mortem of the advertising holding company's stalled turnaround.

According to a former GroupM CFO, as of April 2024 there was no measurable progress on the simplification effort. The only real change was employee terminations, which compounded problems rather than fixed them. Those cuts, the executive said, would push the company's return to growth by two to three years given the complexity of unwinding legacy structures. That assessment is especially damaging because it comes from inside the finance function and frames a strategic transformation as little more than headcount reduction.

Foster alleges he was retaliated against and fired after raising concerns that the media investment arm was running an improper kickback operation. His counsel, William A. Brewer III, phrased the central issue bluntly: 'Richard Foster asked a question any agency should be prepared to answer: Are your profits derived from loyal service to your clients, or not? When Mr. Foster concluded that Defendants did not have honest answers to that question, he informed the CEO — and was summarily fired.' WPP did not address the specific allegations, but said the amended complaint is baseless and without merit, and that it will re-file an updated motion to dismiss.

The legal stakes are significant. The retaliation claim will likely turn on whether Foster's concerns constitute protected activity and whether his termination was causally connected to those disclosures. The 13 insider exhibits could help the plaintiff establish pretext if they show a broader pattern of dysfunction and retaliation. WPP's formal denial signals an aggressive defense, but the exhibits also open a window into internal decision-making that courts and regulators may find relevant beyond this single employment dispute.