The Cabinet Office this morning announced that Government spend on advertising and marketing is down an estimated 52% in June compared to the same period in 2009.
As a result, the COI is restructuring to reflect the reduced volume of work it is overseeing and is to cut staff numbers by 40 per cent with the loss of 287 jobs.
The job losses will see the overall COI headcount reduced from 737 to 450.
Chief executive, Mark Lund said: ‘COI has always adapted to meet the requirements of government and the changing media landscape. A leaner COI is in line with new government priorities.
‘Our future will be grounded in continuing to deliver excellent communications to achieve government aims, in the most cost efficient and effective way possible,’ he added.
Staff will be offered voluntary redundancy initially, but compulsory job losses may follow if not enough staff take redundancy on a voluntary basis.
A formal 90 day consultation begins today and ends on 1 November 2010.
