LONDON (Brand Republic) - Digital agency Dennis Interactive has laid off 18 staff in New York and has closed its UK office, in return for a further investment of $2m (£1.39m) from its owner, Felix Dennis.
The company鈥檚 general manager David Cherry said the cash injection was to 鈥渢ide it over the current economic downturn鈥. The 20 redundancies were announced at the company last Thursday.
Cherry said, "With the general downturn in the economy, our entire industry sector has seen a reduction in demand for services. It was imperative that we scale back to a staff level appropriate for the economic climate, without impacting our ability to provide award-winning interactive work for our existing clients. I deeply regret the loss of each individual employee, but the long-term viability of the company had to be the priority.鈥
Dennis Interactive will now work more closely with the internet division of Dennis Publishing UK to develop UK projects. The division, also called Dennis Interactive, manages 17 magazine-related websites.
Formed in 1994, Dennis Interactive鈥檚 clients include American Express, Circuit City and Timex, and the company employed 48 staff before the lay-offs. The UK office was opened just six months ago and employed two staff.
www.dennisinteractive.com