O2 marketers at risk as operator prepares job cull

by Ben Carter, Marketing 30-Mar-05, 08:45

LONDON - Mobile operator O2's 500-strong marketing department is braced for sweeping job cuts following a change in strategy.

The company is poised to cut up to 100 jobs as part of its plans to establish itself as the mobile consumer champion with an £8m customer loyalty drive, as revealed by Marketing last week.

It is understood that executives have targeted marketing to bear the brunt of the cull of 500 "non-customer-facing" jobs as they are concerned about duplication between its product and marketing functions. The overlap between product and marketing jobs at its Slough headquarters is the result of a merger of the two teams last year, according to sources.

An O2 spokesman confirmed that marketing staff had entered a 90-day consultation period.

It is understood that the company is not planning to replace products chief Lawrence Alexander, who quit late last year to join handset manufacturer Emblaze, and is also looking to cut a number of senior manager roles within product and marketing.

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