Nielsen to cut workforce by 9%

In a statement, the company confirmed that it was looking to bring down costs in line with revenues and was therefore moving ahead with plans for a reduction in staff levels.

Nielsen was sold for $16bn last year to a private equity consortium led by investment fund managers Evergreen Coast Capital Corp and business services firm Brookfield Business Partners.

Later in 2022, Nielsen split its business into three global divisions – Nielsen Audience Measurement, Nielsen Analytics and Gracenote – and reshuffled its senior team, with a number of senior leaders at the firm departing.

Nielsen had its national television measurement service reaccredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC) in April this year after an almost one-and-a-half-year suspension of its accreditation.

Nielsen’s accreditation was suspended by the MRC in September 2021 following Nielsen’s request for a hiatus from the accreditation process for its national television audience measurement (TAM) service.

The MRC also earlier this year removed the accreditation hiatus that had been in place for Nielsen’s local TV ratings services, and suspended accreditation for these markets.

A statement from Nielsen about the job losses said: “Nielsen announced a very difficult decision to reduce our global workforce by about 9% in an effort to bring costs in line with our revenues and to ensure the company’s financial strength for the future.

“We will continue to prioritise areas that will drive innovation and the future of cross-media measurement.

“Nielsen is offering severance pay, outplacement services and health insurance to make the transition as smooth as possible.”