Redundancies hit two top groups

Fitch and Enterprise IG have been forced to make redundancies to their workforces, with a combined total of 15 leaving the two consultancies last week.

Enterprise IG has made nine people redundant, including three designers, just weeks after axing 12 staff (DW 1 March).

It leaves the group with a workforce of 170.

Fitch has made six staff redundant, including three middle-level designers, a cut of just under 5 per cent of its workforce.

Enterprise IG managing director Patrick Smith attributes the redundancies to the slowdown in the corporate branding sector and believes the cuts could have been a lot worse.

‘Last year we were insulated against [a softening in the corporate branding market]. But the softening has been going on for a year to 18 months and it has caught up with us. We have got away lightly. We have not lost any clients,’ he says.

Fitch chief executive Jane Simmonds says the cuts are a result of a restructuring to suit the consultancy’s client mix and not due to any loss of business.

‘It reflects the emphasis of our business these days. With the market as it is – parts are growing and parts are not doing so well – we had to reflect that in our skills set,’ she says.

Meanwhile, Fitch marketing director Robin Kadrinka is leaving the consultancy to join Enterprise IG’s consumer branding division as business development director.