Bates to axe 150 after Mars loss

Bates Worldwide is making an estimated 150 redundancies in its attempt to cope with the loss of the $300m (£200m) Mars account.

In the UK, Bates Dorland has cut 12 jobs – fewer than was anticipated – including new business director Jo Smith. The jobs have been cut from across the agency, rather than concentrated on the Mars confectionery and petfood account teams.

But in other markets, where the Mars business represented a disproportionate amount of income, including central Europe and the Far Eastern markets, the cuts are likely to be harsher. The Bates Worldwide board drew up plans at the weekend to make the cuts and its local offices are now executing the policy.

“It is not yet finalised but in the end it will work out as three per cent of the total 5,000 staff,” says Bates chief executive officer Michael Bungey. “We have been able to spread the load across the network.”

Mars accounted for between six per cent and seven per cent of Mars’ worldwide revenue.

But winning the $100m (£66m) Lucky Strike account in January has eased the Mars blow and prevented more swingeing cuts.

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