Cash article is an "unsavory piece of work"

Agencies Jost Wirz points out 22 errors to the author of a Cash article about his holding company Chairman of the Board of Directors Jost Wirz defends himself against an article in the business newspaper Cash, according to which his agency group Wirz Partner Holding is threatened with closure. It is an "unsavory piece of work that borders on gross defamation", he told Werbewoche. The article contained no fewer than 22 false statements. It is true that the agency group was in the red in some places last year and had too little liquid capital to cover its losses. However, following a share capital increase of three million francs at the end of 2002, the entire group is now debt-free. The main cause of the losses was the collapse in Wirz Werbung's gross operating income from 25.1 to 17.6 million francs. "We made the necessary adjustments too late because we wanted to keep the jobs and relied on natural rotation," says Jost Wirz. The number of employees was ultimately reduced from 225 to around 175. Wirz believes his group is well equipped for the future. Even a loss of Toyota's advertising budget, which Cash paints on the wall, would be bearable: Wirz estimates the budget's share of total billings at a maximum of 10 percent.
Stefano Monachesi