Titan denies bonus dispute departures

by Deven Pamben Media Week 17-Jun-08, 07:30

LONDON - Titan Outdoor has dismissed rumours that the loss of 10 of its 70 London sales staff within a two-week period is the result of a dispute over bonuses.

Titan said that only two of the 10 were "unexpected departures" and none involved senior positions at the outdoor advertising giant.

Steve Cox, Titan marketing director, dismissed the loss of 10% of its sales workforce as normal in a sector where competition for staff is fierce. "The turnaround in staff depends on what is happening in the market," he said.

He denied the rumours and added: "A row over bonuses is not the case. That did not happen."
Cox blamed the high number of departures on normal market churn. He said: "Sales people look for rewarding jobs with rewarding packages. When you have a business like ours, you have new staff coming in."

But a well-placed industry source claimed: "To dismiss the staff turnover as par for the course is bizarre. No one has that turnover of staff."

Rumours of a dispute over bonuses arose after the 10 left Titan within a short period. All have signed confidentiality agreements not to discuss their departures.

Titan claims to have outperformed the market by 7% in Q1 of 2008. In April, it announced a raft of senior appointments, including David Russell as operations director, Steve Cox as marketing director and Rob Bassett as group head of sales in the agency team.