Ladbrokes Cutting Up to 100 Jobs

(Reuters) - Ladbrokes said as many as 100 employees at its headquarters in Harrow could lose their jobs as Britain's second-largest bookmaker transfers a number of roles to its operation in Israel, set up as part of its agreement with gaming software developer Playtech.

In March, Playtech and Ladbrokes, which has struggled to keep up with the online offering of UK market leader William Hill, finalised an agreement for the former to advise and assist the bookmaker with its digital services for an initial period of five years. 

Ladbrokes Israel began operations at the start of the month and the company said it was transferring a "number of key tasks" to the unit.

"As a result of this and the company's ongoing commitment to maximising efficiency, a number of Ladbrokes employees have been placed at risk of redundancy and a 90-day consultation period has begun," Ladbrokes said in a statement, adding it expected about 100 jobs to be affected.

(Reporting by Abhishek Takle in Bangalore)