Publicis exits Russian market, hands over control to local management
(Reuters) - Publicis on Tuesday said the group is stopping its activities in Russia by ceding the ownership of its agencies to local management, effective immediately.
The firm is handing over control of its Russian operations to Sergey Koptev, founding chairman of Publicis in Russia, with the clear contractual condition of ensuring a future for employees there, the French company said.
"We were determined to take the necessary time to come with a solution that was truly people-first, because our 1,200 employees in Russia are our people too. We couldn't just abandon them”, Chief Executive Officer Arthur Sadoun said in a statement.
(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian , editing by Tassilo Hummel)