The cuts are across the board and, at the time of going to press, are expected to affect more than 30 employees. According to Claritas, the losses are in response to the adverse economic climate and the changing nature of the list business.
Oliver Davies, general manager at Claritas UK, stressed that the job losses are not connected to the announcement made in January that VNU was exploring its strategic options and the possible sale of the company.
Chief among the reasons given for the redundancies is that clients are buying names on a list rental basis via the internet and are not paying for account management services on top of that. "Most of our traditional DM clients still want to be treated with a consultancy approach, but these are hard times," Davies admitted. "I've done a two-year plan which means cuts like these should not have to be repeated."
Other industry experts, including Paul Winters, managing director of marketing solutions division at CACI, predicted that the cuts could be the first of many in the list industry. "We've lost two people, but it was due to a refocusing of our needs. We have different legs outside the pure list business that should make us more resilient."
Dean Epton, managing director at Claritas UK, said: "The slow market has affected the whole industry."
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