A dozen senior marketers lose jobs in NTL cull

NTL Incorporated, the parent company of cable brands NTL and Telewest, is cutting a swathe through its marketing department with up to a dozen senior marketers losing their posts.

Announcing the merger deal last autumn, company executives said the combined company would be able to cut &£1.5bn in costs. It also committed itself to “eliminating duplicated activities”, but sources say the scope of these latest plans has surprised staff. Insiders say that leaving only two “key” marketing roles – a director of brand and strategy, and a director of consumer marketing – is excessive and before time.

Among the names to be going include NTL director of online marketing Steve Perry, Telewest senior marketers Richard Marriott and Simon Creasey, and Chris Collinson, Grant Law and Paul Stevenson of NTL. There was no response from the company as Marketing Week went to press.

The two companies, which completed the merger earlier this year, are also expected to cut the supporting marketing teams by a third, in line with company-wide plans. “There has not been enough time for the two to bed down,” says a source, who believes cuts are being made too quickly.

He says it undermines NTL’s ability to compete against rivals, such as BSkyB and the BBC at a time when the enlarged cable company has been described as “resurgent”. Another adds: “How can it deliver the numbers when it is getting rid of so much marketing talent?”

Staff were informed late last week.