Gambling operator Paddy Power Betfair has begun fleshing out plans to trim nearly 10% of its workforce following last year’s merger of Paddy Power and Betfair.
Late Monday, the Irish Times reported that Paddy Power Betfair staff had received emails from management detailing the precise cuts required to realize the £50m in annual synergies the merged entity promised shareholders when they confirmed their £5b union last September.
The combined group currently has a workforce of around 7,200. The cuts are expected to claim around 300 jobs at Paddy Power’s Ireland-based operations, while another 350 positions will be eliminated in the UK. As Betfair has no land-based business, Paddy’s retail staffers will be spared the axe.
The same can’t be said for positions where duplication abounds, including legal, finance and human resources professionals, along with technology, trading and risk staff.
The redundant Irish staff will be offered four weeks’ pay for each year of service on top of their statutory redundancy entitlement, bringing their total severance package to six weeks’ pay for each year of service.
The enlarged company will operate out of a single office in both Ireland and Britain, meaning Betfair staffers in Dublin will move to the Paddy Power HQ, while the group’s main office in the UK will be in Hammersmith, London.
CUTS AT THE BOTTOM, SHUFFLES AT THE TOP
Top management hasn’t been spared the trimming, as evidenced by last month’s surprise departure of chief marketing office Gav Thompson after less than one year on the job. Last month also saw the group’s chief operating officer (and former Paddy Power CEO) Andy McCue head for the exits.
Breon Corcoran, who headed up Betfair and now heads up the enlarged group, has reportedly opted against nominating a direct replacement for McCue. Instead, Corcoran divvied up McCue’s duties among three senior staffers in order to “ensure continuity and momentum at this busy time.”
According to an email viewed by eGaming Review, Corcoran elevated former Paddy Power online managing director Johnny Hartnett to managing director of commercial international. Hartnett’s new brief will see him handle international business excluding Italy, along with leading the group’s risk and trading, VIP, product and B2B divisions.
Betfair’s former commercial MD Aine Flanagan will now serve the same role for the group’s UK and Ireland-facing businesses, while also heading up the gaming division. Dan Taylor will continue to oversee the retail business, while also taking on the Italian operations of both Betfair and Paddy Power.
