Roadrunner Sheds Staff

As many as 20 of the 22 staff working at Roadrunner Records’ HQ in Naarden will be laid off, following the company’s recent acquisition by Warner Music Group.

Roadrunner founder Cees Wessels is expected to remain as chief exec and the office is expected to remain open to continue Roadrunner’s presence in the market.

The layoffs have been caused because Warner, which bought three quarters of Roadrunner in 2007 and recently acquired the rest, will now run the back office functions including IT, the finance department and dealing with royalties.

The Warner takeover isn’t expected to cause such wholesale cuts in Roadrunner’s other offices. On a global basis it will continue to operate as independent entity within Warner.