The embattled toy giant is axing its three marketing divisions and is creating a single global marketing unit. Lego has 900 marketing staff worldwide, but is undergoing a radical restructure, spearheaded by its recently appointed global marketer Mads Nipper. Sources claim that up to 400 marketing jobs could go in the restructure with up to 1,000 job losses at risk across the business.
Lego would not confirm how many jobs would be affected by the cuts, but said in a statement that it would announce "worldwide staffing decisions at the end of March".
It has placed Poul Schou, vice-president of marketing for the Americas, in control of a unit to replace its three marketing divisions: Make & Create, Stories & Action and Lego Next. He reports to Nipper.
Lego has also disbanded its global PR team and is outsourcing the development of its branded video games. It is integrating its global brand development team into the global innovation and marketing division.
The latest cuts and business restructure are part of ongoing changes, which were first announced when the firm revealed 2003 losses of 1.4bn DKK (£129m) in January.
It has already confirmed that following poor sales in its pre-school range, it is reviving Duplo and has signed a sponsorship deal with the Ferrari Formula One team to regain popularity among boys.
Lego has blamed its poor performance last year on an over-reliance on licences and not concentrating enough on its core building-brick product.
Previously, Lego had extended its brand into non-core areas, such as clothing and jewellery, although most of these plans have now been scaled back.
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