The World: Sydney - M&C Saatchi lays off staff from Sydney office

The cutbacks are the first major changes made by the new chief executive, Mike Abel, who officially takes up his role at the agency in January.

M&C Saatchi has assured staff that the redundancies are a one-off, caused because the agency was "over-structured".

The cuts are thought to come from a range of positions within the agency, including its digital arm, Mark.

None of the staff affected have been at the agency for more than three years.