ATLANTA -- Atlanta-based WorldTravel Partners said it consolidated
its operations from nine to six geographic regions, resulting in
some job losses.
WorldTravel Partners collapsed its Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and
New England units into the newly named East Division, based in
Falls Church, Va., led by division president Jim Pagano.
Stuart Stafman, former president of the Mid-Atlantic division,
will leave the company this spring to pursue other opportunities in
the industry.
Former New England division president Connie Fitzgerald will
work on special projects for the agency's holding company.
Meanwhile, Jay Levitts, president of the New England region, will
continue as a consultant to the company.
The agency's North Central and Great Lakes divisions have merged
to form a Midwest division, based in Troy, Mich., under division
president Tom Kallas, the former head of the Great Lakes unit.
Becky Nichols, former president of the North Central division,
was named executive vice president of WorldTravel Partners
Interactive. The agency named Mike Janssen senior vice president
for the North Central region, under the Midwest division. Janssen
was vice president of travel and administrative services for AON
Corp.
WorldTravel Partners West and Northwest units will remain
intact, officials said.
WorldTravel Partners president Danny Hood said there have been
"profound changes" in the travel industry in the past year, notably
the further reduction in airline commissions and the growing use of
the Internet as a distribution channel.
"To stay ahead of the competition and provide greater value to
our corporate customers, we have concluded that we will be more
effective if we combine selected divisions," said Hood.
Nick Born, executive vice president of the closely held company,
would not comment on how many jobs were lost, describing them as
"minimal."
Born said the agency was forced to look at ways to cut overhead
and expenses without hurting customer service. The move comes at a
time when the major U.S. agencies are making drastic changes in how
they service customers.
American Express, for example, moved to a so-called shared
services configuration where travel clients would be serviced
through large call centers in return for more competitive service
charges.
Born said WorldTravel Partners has no plans to move customers
into large call centers or away from on-site locations, but the
agency is looking to increase the number of clients using Web-based
booking services.
The agency, which merged with Northbrook, Ill.-based BTI
Americas in 1998, has 5,600 employees, all in the U.S. The combined
agency has annual volume of more than $3 billion and claims to be
the third-largest in the U.S.