Nielsen cuts 1,250 service jobs worldwide

By Michael Flaherty

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Nielsen Company laid off 1,250 workers worldwide last week as part of a plan to reduce the research group's work force by 10 percent, spokesman Jack Loftus told Reuters on Sunday.

Around 200 to 300 of the layoffs were U.S. jobs, Loftus said, adding that the cuts came from Nielsen's Global Business Services group.

"This is the last round probably for some time," Loftus told Reuters, when asked about the layoffs.

The business services group includes the operations, technology and information technology personnel.

Nielsen, the world's largest market research firm, changed its name from VNU Group in January, shortly after former General Electric executive David Calhoun was put in place by its private equity owners to run the company.

AlpInvest, Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group, Hellman & Friedman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Thomas H. Lee Partners bought VNU for 7.6 billion euro (5.3 billion pounds) in June 2006 in a heated takeover battle with shareholders. VNU at the time was based in The Netherlands.

The following December, VNU said it planned to cut 4,000 jobs, or around 10 percent of its work force in 2007. While the company planned layoffs before it was taken over by private equity firms, it did not say how many positions would be cut, Loftus said.

Loftus said the total of number of job reductions this year will be less than the 4,000 originally planned.