UK-listed gambling operators Ladbrokes and Gala Coral Group plan to cut up to 50% of their workforce in preparation for the two companies’ proposed merger.

In an email to Gala Coral staff obtained by eGaming Review, CEO Carl Leaver warned that the fusion of the two companies will result in “around 600, maybe up to 700, fewer positions’ at the new Ladbrokes-Coral entity. The total represents around half of the two firms’ existing payrolls.

Affected staffers will be offered redundancy pay of between eight and 40 weeks their usual salary. Weaver said the process of identifying who gets the axe and who gets to stay will be based “purely on merit.” The payroll purge is expected to get underway in November.

The merged company plans to operate out of Gala Coral’s Stratford office, which will result in the closure of Ladbrokes’ Rayners Lane HQ. A smaller corporate office will be established on Victoria Street.