Levy warns of job cuts following merger of Publicis with Bcom3.(Publicis chief executive Maurice Levy)(Brief Article)

Publicis is likely to cut jobs in the wake of its merger with the rival advertising holding company Bcom3, according to the chief executive, Maurice Levy.

He added that the cuts would probably come from within the holding company rather than the individual agency networks, but would not elaborate further.

The cuts would be necessary if the combined company was to reach its target profit margins next year.

Levy is aiming for a operating profit margin of 15 per cent for the combined company in 2003, but neither holding company is at that level of profitability independently, according to reports. This year, Levy is aiming for a 14.1 per cent margin, the figure it reported last year.

'The market situation is quite difficult and difficult to predict. However, I am very confident that we will reach and deliver the targets,' Levy said.

As well as making redundancies, Levy also stressed the importance of winning new business from existing clients to improve the balance sheet.