CHICAGO: Edelman has closed its Boston and Austin, TX offices,
joining the growing ranks of agencies announcing staff cuts in response
to the slowdown in the economy.
Accounts and some staff from the two offices will move to Edelman's New
York and Dallas offices, respectively, and the agency will be cutting 45
jobs.
Pam Talbot, president and COO of Edelman US, said the state of the
economy, and "particularly the continuing downturn of the technology
sector," had necessitated the cuts.
"We are disappointed, and regret having to take these actions," she
added.
"The whole public relations industry is facing the same situation."
The general manager of Edelman's Austin office and a couple of employees
will continue working there with clients. The rest of the work will be
handled out of Dallas by the team led by EVP and managing director Sam
Falcona.
Edelman rode the Austin hi-tech wave earlier than most national firms,
buying GTT (Gone to Texas) in 1998. When it was acquired, GTT had
billings of $2 million.
