Advertising
From Pink Slips to Silent Sidelining: Inside adland’s layoff and anxiety crisis
India’s media, advertising sector cuts 1,000-plus jobs as AI reshapes work
Zee Ent laid off about 200 employees during the year as part of a remodelling exercise; Nearly 300 employees lost their jobs across India's FM networks
AI accounted for nearly 55,000 job cuts in the United States this year.
The country's advertising, media and entertainment industry cut more than 1,000 jobs in 2025 as companies accelerated the use of artificial intelligence, restructured operations and consolidated businesses, according to staffing executives and industry estimates.
The losses did not fall evenly. Freshers continued to find openings, particularly in digital roles. However, employees in mid-level and support positions, such as those handling routine reporting, basic production support, low-complexity creative adaptations, and account-heavy work, were increasingly shown the door, their tasks absorbed by software that is capable of producing first drafts, edits, and analytics at speed and scale.
"It's difficult to arrive at a precise figure, but the layoffs are clearly in the four digits," said a senior industry executive who requested anonymity. "Global cuts announced by US-based media companies also filtered down to their India operations".
One of the most visible reductions came at Zee Entertainment, which laid off about 200 employees during the year. ZEEL said it was reshaping its business around an omni-channel approach, integrating divisions to create a leaner and more collaborative structure.
In radio, an industry long under pressure, the cuts were sharper. Nearly 300 employees lost their jobs across FM networks. Radio City, operated by Music Broadcast Ltd, reduced staff by an estimated 100-150 employees. Big FM cut between 50 and 70 roles.
Dangal TV, a free-to-air general entertainment channel, let go of roughly 40-50 staff as competition intensified on DD Free Dish from big networks and rising costs.
For agencies and media firms, the year became an exercise in restraint.
"2025 was a 'do more with less' year," said Shantanu Rooj, Founder and CEO, TeamLease Edtech.
Hiring did not stop, he said, but it changed character. Narrower roles, shorter learning curves and a preference for skills that could be deployed immediately, especially in digital execution, content operations and analytics.
The retrenchment in India mirrored a broader global contraction. Media and entertainment companies in the US cut more than 17,000 jobs in 2025, driven by consolidation, cost-cutting and the rapid spread of AI across newsrooms, studios and marketing departments.
According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, US media companies announced 17,163 job cuts through November, an 18% rise from a year earlier. Companies cited AI in more than 54,000 planned layoffs, as generative tools took on tasks once performed by designers, editors, marketers and junior journalists.
"News, which Challenger tracks as a subset of Media and includes broadcast, digital, and print, has announced 2,254 job cuts so far this year," the report mentioned.
High-profile restructuring underscored the shift. The Paramount Skydance merger eliminated roughly 2,000 jobs, while Warner Bros Discovery and NBCUniversal cut roles ahead of planned cable spinoffs as television revenue continued to decline.
Jeff Bezos-owned The Washington Post reduced its workforce by about 4% following a broad overhaul.
CNN cut around 200 roles as it prepared for corporate restructuring tied to its parent's cable strategy. CBS News laid off about 100 employees and cancelled multiple streaming news programmes. Besides, eight on-air correspondents and hosts were given pink slips by the company. NBC News cut roughly 150 jobs, about 7% of its workforce, as Comcast moved ahead with its Versant spinoff.
Digital publishers also retrenched. Business Insider cut 21% of its staff as it pivoted to an "AI-first" operating model, while Forbes reduced headcount by about 5% after missing financial targets.
Condé Nast shuttered Teen Vogue as a standalone operation and cut additional staff across its portfolio as it consolidated brands and reduced costs.
Disney launched another round of global layoffs in June, affecting hundreds of employees across television, marketing, casting, development and corporate finance functions.
In advertising, Omnicom Group Inc. said it would lay off more than 4,000 roles following its $13 billion acquisition of rival Interpublic Group (IPG). The integration will see several agency brands folded into Omnicom's existing networks, with most job cuts expected in administrative functions, though some leadership roles will also be affected. IPG itself laid off about 2,200 staff in the first nine months of 2025.
Even as jobs disappeared, the industry did not stop hiring altogether. In the second half of the year, recruitment in India ticked up modestly, buoyed by growth in digital advertising, creator-led businesses and live commerce. Companies began seeking roles that reflected a shift towards content that can be measured, tracked and monetised in real time, such as campaign-optimisation, live-commerce operators, etc.
“The industry is moving decisively from reach-led models to value-driven monetisation," said Balasubramanian A, senior vice president at TeamLease Services.
"The next phase belongs to people who can combine creativity with data and digital fluency".
Yet pay packages remain a sticking point. According to foundit Insights Tracker, entry-level salaries in media and entertainment range from Rs 1.9 lakh to Rs 5.7 lakh a year, while senior roles command between Rs 18 lakh and Rs 25 lakh.
"Traditional sectors such as Media & Entertainment face challenges in offering competitive salaries," said an official from foundit.
Looking ahead, industry executives expect cautious growth in 2026, though not a return to the hiring patterns of the past.
"The jobs will come back, but they won't look the same," said Rooj.
Digital-first work is likely to be hired more consistently because budgets keep moving toward measurable channels. Retail media and connected TV are expected to be notable growth engines in 2026, which will translate into demand for platform specialists, content-to-commerce operators, and measurement talent. Traditional agency models will still hire, but will increasingly reward 'full-stack' profiles. Broadcast and entertainment hiring should stay supported by the long-run expansion of OTT consumption and content supply chains, though with a clear push toward efficiency and multi-skilling rather than large crews," he added.
Rooj said that the growth will be about recomposing the workforce, that is, replacing junior-heavy execution roles with fewer, more specialised positions in automation, analytics, creator operations and commerce-led media.
SPOTLIGHT
From purpose-driven work and narrative-rich brand films to AI-enabled ideas and creator-led collaborations, the awards reflect the full spectrum of modern creativity.
Read More“Confusion creates opportunity for agile players,” Sir Martin Sorrell on industry consolidation
Looking ahead to the close of 2025 and into 2026, Sorrell sees technology platforms as the clear winners. He described them as “nation states in their own right”, with market capitalisations that exceed the GDPs of many countries.