EMI is looking at another wave of layoffs in the near-to-immediate future, axing 1,000 jobs as it tries to bring its worldwide headcount down from 4,500 employees to 2,000. A source told the UK's
Telegraph that EMI owner/Terra Firma CEO Guy Hands is still looking to make cuts because the company has "more employees generating less revenues than its competitors at Warner Music and Universal." Pretty sure this marks the first time that Warner Music Group has been shown in a relatively efficient light in many, many years. [
Telegraph]
Terra Firma's grand restructuring plan for EMI is stalling because of stipulations lurking within the contracts of both artists and senior management, according to sources inside the company; certain artists may leave if their chosen EMI liasions depart the company (thanks to the not-sexist-at-all "key man" clause), while some upper-level employees are allowed to walk "if their responsibilities change or if the company comes under new ownership or management." EMI's reps are denying this, saying that the plans to reconfigure the company are on schedule, but this, my friends, is why you should
always hire a lawyer before you sign anything. [
Reuters]
Terra Firma chair Guy Hands will let EMI's remaining employees know about his upcoming strategy for the label in a meeting next Tuesday, although he won't be discussing impending job cuts at the label. Instead, the meeting will focus on such Powerpoint-ready topics as "importance of keeping artists at the heart of what we do", "understanding the needs of the consumer" and "tackling digital challenges." Hope there are at least free donuts! [
Times Online via
Silicon Alley Insider]
Scrimping-and-pinching EMI chairman Guy Hands has found more slashable line items within the label's sprawling budget: "A three-bedroom mews house in London's not-trendy-but-expensive Mayfair that was used by former chair Eric Nicoli and is worth £5.6m; £20,000 on candles to decorate a Los Angeles apartment used to entertain guests; and the estimated £200,000 annual budget on fruit and flowers for EMI offices." [
Guardian]
Terra Firma CEO Guy Hands' latest plan for cutting costs at EMI: Halving the record company's $25 million annual payouts to trade groups like the Recording Industry Association of America and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry—a move that would force EMI to take more of an initiative as far as antipiracy efforts go, although one wonders if Hands doesn't see that as a beneficial part of his plan. [
FT]
Three months after closing the deal to buy EMI, the British equity group Terra Firma is looking to lessen its equity stake in the troubled record label. CEO Guy Hands is also exploring other cash-saving opportunities such as selling off the label's physical distribution business and outsourcing packing and shipping. [
NYP]
Shares of EMI fall 5.2 percent as questions grow over whether or not the troubled record company's potential buyer, Terra Firma, can secure financing for the deal. [
Reuters]
Guy Hands and his Terra Firma pals have already shown an odd hand toward running EMI, but if Roger Friedman is to be believed (and feel free to be skeptical), their boldest experiment yet is on its way.
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