InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is to slash 30% of its senior management roles in a bid to reduce annual costs by at least $50m (£31.4m).
The phased redundancy drive is part of an organisational review that started last October and will be completed by December 2004. It will mean the loss of 800 of the group's 2,600 global corporate staff. To date, more than 150 jobs have gone and another 200 staff have been consulted.
Redundancies will focus on IHG's head office in London and its regional offices in Windsor, Berkshire; Atlanta, USA; and Singapore. The London headquarters will close in September and move to the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) office in Windsor.
A spokeswoman said the review was prompted by the recent demerger from Six Continents and not by the impact of the Iraq war or the Sars epidemic.
Chief executive Richard North said the group had faced "some of the worst conditions the industry has ever encountered". Margins have been squeezed as revenue growth has been driven by rises in occupancy rather than room rates.