Quarter of brands cutting senior marketing leaders
Saving money on wages (58.4%) is the main reason cited for cutting and not replacing senior marketing talent.
Amid heightened pressure to perform, persistent restructures and slashed budgets, some brands are choosing to cut and not replace senior marketing talent.
A quarter (23.8%) of the more than 3,500 respondents to Marketing Week’s 2025 Career & Salary Survey say their business has cut senior marketing leaders, such as CMOs, from the team and not replaced them.
When asked why, well over half (58.4%) say the decision was taken to save on wages, while a quarter (23.7%) claim new hires have been made, but not like-for-like replacements. Almost a fifth (19.6%) admit the decision not to replace a marketing leader was down to a lack of succession planning.
