EMI to shut Dutch CD plant

31 March 2004

AMSTERDAM — Music giant EMI announced Wednesday that it is shutting down its CD and DVD production facility in the south-eastern Dutch town of Uden as part of a global drive to cut costs.

EMI said it was outsourcing the production of CDs and DVDs to Mediamotion, a member of the Dutch ECF Group.

The 750 employees at Uden will be transferred along with the plant’s assets to Mediamotion. EMI will also close it US plant in Jacksonville, Illinois, accounting for 150 job cuts and outsourced production there.

In total EMI is to cut 1,500 jobs worldwide, or 20 percent of the workforce at its recorded music unit and reorganise its labels under a cost-cutting plan designed to save EUR 75 million annually.

The world’s third biggest music group said on Wednesday that it would be reducing its number of contracted artists by 20 percent, with the bulk of the cuts expected to hit artists in Continental Europe.

EMI said niche and under-performing artists would go, but refused to give names, Reuters news agency reported.

In the last rounds of cuts, EMI ended the contract of popular Dutch singer Ilse de Lange.

EMI said that despite a very competitive market and rampant illegal downloading of music via the internet, sales for the year ending 31 March 2004 were close to the previous year’s level, when the company recorded sales of EUR 3.2 billion, down 11.1 percent from 2002.

Subject: Dutch news + EMI