Rosé and redundancies: Big tech, big ad spend, and the cost of Cannes amid mass layoffs
As companies trim jobs by the thousands citing economic slowdown, they continue to pour millions into beach-front branding, pop-up parties and yacht-studded networking at Cannes Lions 2025.
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As the global economy reels under waves of cost-cutting and uncertainty, Cannes Lions 2025 paints a jarringly different picture - one of champagne-soaked panels, luxury yachts, branded beaches, and VIP soirées.
But this year, the glitz of the French Riviera comes with a bitter aftertaste: the industry's lavish spending spree coincides with brutal layoffs across tech firms and advertising conglomerates.
According to Layoffs.fyi, 2024 saw over 150,000 job cuts across 549 tech companies, and 2025 is off to no better a start - 22,000+ jobs have already been slashed, including 16,084 layoffs in February alone, according to a TechCrunch report. Yet many of the same companies responsible for these cuts are spending millions to maintain a high-profile presence at Cannes Lions.
The layoff ledger: A grim reality
Let's take stock of the firms tightening their belts - for some, only where it's most visible to employees:
- Meta is cutting 5% of its workforce, targeting "low performers" to prepare for what it calls an "intense year." More than 100 employees from its Reality Labs Division have also been let go.
- Google recently laid off hundreds in its Android, Chrome, and Pixel teams. It is also trimming its People Operations and Cloud orgs through a voluntary exit programme.
- Amazon eliminated around 100 roles in its Devices & Services division and laid off several employees in its communications wing. The company has cut 27,000 jobs since 2022.
- Microsoft is axing 6,500 jobs, or 3% of its workforce - its biggest layoff since 2023.
- Canva, despite its soaring valuation of $26 billion, let go of 10-12 technical writers.
These announcements came just weeks - in some cases, days before executives from these same firms set sail for Cannes.
The Cannes contrast: Beachfronts, billboards, and billionaire branding
Cannes Lions has long been the industry's flagship event for celebrating creativity. But in 2025, the festival has morphed into a high-stakes business bazaar - complete with corporate beaches, AI showcases, and million-dollar meeting spots.
Some of the most extravagant spends include:
- Renting a digital billboard at the Palais des Festivals: $267,000
- Hosting clients at Le Voilier, a prime restaurant venue: $750,000
- Booking a yacht for the week on Yacht Row: $109,000 - $163,500, excluding taxes and docking fees.
- Festival delegate tickets: Up to $7,000 per person
- Agency award entries: Thousands per entry, with some networks entering hundreds of campaigns.
Major agency holding companies like WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, Havas, Dentsu, and Stagwell have built entire branded beachfronts for the week. The WPP Beach is hosting sessions with Microsoft, Verizon, Reddit, while Stagwell's Sport Beach is leaning into gamification.
Add to that the enormous cost of award entries.
Submitting a single piece of work can cost $1,200 to $2,000 or above, and many agencies submit dozens of entries across categories. Despite the recent market squeeze, agencies continue to chase the prestige of a Cannes Lions.
Notably, VaynerMedia has abandoned its yacht this year in favour of a land-based café setup at Chez Vayner, citing a need to be "scrappy and frugal," as per industry reports.
But "scrappy" remains relative. The industry's obsession with visibility and client entertainment hasn't waned - it's just shifted form. Informal "chemistry meetings" and quiet agency reviews are happening in luxury suites and seafront cafés, with brands like PayPal, American Express, and LinkedIn on the hunt for new creative partners.
All of this comes against the backdrop of a global advertising slowdown. Marketing budgets are being slashed. Client decisions are slower. AI disruption is creating job uncertainty. And yet, for one week in June, the industry seems suspended in an alternate reality - one where economic pressure exists only in PowerPoint decks.
As rosé glasses clink and beach chairs filled up in Cannes, the juxtaposition of mass layoffs and luxury activations is impossible to ignore.
A workforce on edge. Agencies cutting corners. And corporations justifying mass layoffs. All while millions are poured into beachfront branding and "manifestival" vibes.
The industry's leaders may be raising a toast to innovation and connection, but back home, thousands of ex-employees are staring down at a tough job market - wondering where all that budget really went.
