Global public relations (PR) firm We. Communications has laid off an undisclosed number of staff in its Singapore office.
According to sources cited by The Business Times, the cuts spanned multiple departments and roles, with the creative team bearing the brunt—losing about half its headcount. Other affected teams included digital, PR and communications, operations, and special projects.
The retrenchments also affected staff across various seniority levels, from entry-level employees to at least one director. A large portion of those impacted were relatively new hires, many with less than two years at the firm. One employee was reportedly let go after less than a month on the job.
Staff were offered severance packages, though the specifics of these benefits were not disclosed.
In an internal e-mail seen by The Business Times, the US-headquartered company cited significant changes to the business over the last year, especially during the last six months, as a reason for the move. This included shrinking client budgets and a shift towards in-house PR and communications, resulting in “an incredible increase in competition”.
“All of these created significant budget gaps for the agency that we can no longer offset, hence making this step unavoidable,” said the firm.
As part of cost-cutting measures, We. Communications has also suspended benefits such as wellness, learning, employee referrals, and anniversary recognition until Jun 2026. Salary reviews and bonuses for all levels have been frozen until that time as well.
Vulcan Post has reached out to We. Communications and the National Trades Union Congress for comments.
We. Communications laid off 2% of its workforce in June
Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, We. Communications was founded in 1983. It employs more than 1,500 employees and operates across 100 international markets. In Singapore, its LinkedIn profile indicates a workforce of 51–200 employees.
We. Communication’s Singapore layoffs follow the agency’s announcement in Jul that it would cut 2% of its global workforce, primarily in the US. The move was driven by reduced budgets from technology clients—a sector that has faced widespread cuts and retrenchments this year.
This includes Microsoft, We. Communication’s long-time and largest technology client. It announced 9,000 job cuts worldwide this year, contributing to a total of about 15,000 staff reductions. The PR firm also counts Adobe, SAP, and Tencent among its major clients.
Featured Image Credit: We. Communications Singapore/ iStock