More jobs to go at EMI May 14, 2008
Posted by Paul Birch in : Uncategorized , trackback
DMWmedia.com news feed reports
London - U.K.-based major record label EMI, which under new owner, Guy Hands’ Terra Firma, has already announced 1,500 to 2,000 layoffs at its recorded music division, now plans to eliminate an additional up to 1,000 positions, bringing the company’s total headcount from around 4,500 to 2,000, The Telegraph reported, citing sources.
The first round of layoffs was announced back in January.
The planned second round, expected to come in waves throughout the year, was necessary, people familiar with the situation told The Telegraph, because “the business will stall have more employees generating less revenues than its competitors at Warner Music and Universal.”
Ben Harrington writes for the Telegraph
EMI’S owner, Guy Hands, is planning to axe up to 1,000 more jobs at the music company.
Mr Hands, who runs buyout firm Terra Firma, told senior EMI directors last week that the company’s headcount at its recorded music division will need to be reduced to around 2,000 people from 4,500, according to sources.
In January, EMI announced that it was planning to axe between 1,500 and 2,000 jobs at its recorded music division EMI Music. Several senior, highly paid executives in Britain have recently been made redundant.
They include Mike McMahon, senior vice-president of commercial and digital media. He will be replaced by Matthew Crosswaite, who was a vice-president in EMI’s digital division. Mr Crosswaite was yesterday formally appointed senior vice-president of sales, sources said.
Meanwhile, Ferdinand Unger-Hamilton, managing director of Virgin Records in Britain, is also understood to be leaving. He is said to have left the business last Friday.
People familiar with the situation said Mr Hands was looking to cut more jobs at the company because, even after the round of redundancies announced in January, the business will still have more employees generating less revenues than its competitors at Warner Music and Universal.
Insiders speculated that the next job cuts will come in waves throughout the year.
Terra Firma bought EMI for £3.2bn last year
Comment:
Seems like EMI’s desire to join the Independent sector is becoming a reality. Though with Ames gone is the rudder missing? Its all Hands to the deck then as less people are expected to do more. Its fine in SME’s, but corporate business expects experts in every field. Please don’t ask the Marketing people to get on the phone and sell – it’s not necessarily that they wouldn’t know how, its just not how corporations work.
As the bottom line is continually polished for improved performance, is anyone watching the top line as the rule of diminishing returns becomes ever increasingly significant?
Desperately in search now of dry land (terra firma), Hands continues to toss bodies off the ship in order to maintain ballast and stay afloat. But should the Admiral really be at the helm when he has no sailing experience and he’s already made a life raft out of his captains’ remains?
It is bad….it will get worse.
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