Wary EMI staff await Terra vision.

Guy Hands will spell out his future direction for EMI this week in the wake of CEO Tony Wadsworth's departure

EMI employees, reeling from the exit of their chairman/CEO Tony Wadsworth, are bracing themselves for more swingeing cuts and a radical reworking of the way they do business when they meet Guy Hands this week.

The Terra Firma and EMI Group boss, who has been undertaking a wide- scale strategic review of the company since Terra Firma's #2.4bn takeover last August, has asked EMI Music staff to clear their diaries tomorrow (Tuesday) so he can spell out the future direction of the company. He is calling it his "vision" announcement.

Hands has also invited managers of EMI acts to a separate meeting at EMI's Wrights Lane HQ on the same day.

Hands' document is based on a three-month review of all EMI operations, which has involved lengthy analysis and interviews with senior executives and artist managers.

But it is also partly based on comments canvassed from EMI staff, who have sent Hands more than 600 lengthy emails. Some of these thoughts are contained in a small, white, 50-page booklet Hands circulated at the end of last year.

One key paragraph in the Hands vision is understood to relate to splitting the A&R operation away from the rest of the group's operations such as distribution and sales.