Britain's Competition and Markets Authority is planning to cut its staff by almost 10% over "budget errors" as the agency is rattled by the government's ouster of its chairman.
Chief Executive Sarah Cardell told staff at a town hall meeting in December that the CMA was launching a voluntary exit program to reduce headcount by about 100 people due to cost overruns, according to people familiar with the matter.
Kader called the overspending a "budget error," people familiar with the matter said. The CMA has a total headcount of nearly 1,200 and the Treasury's budget for this year is £139m.
At a separate town hall meeting on Monday, Caddell said certain areas of the agency, such as mergers and a new digital markets unit, would be protected from cuts, people familiar with the matter said.
One of the people added that regulators are looking to start with voluntary redundancies to avoid forced layoffs.
The cuts come as the regulator finds itself in the spotlight of the Labor government, with CMA chairman Marcus Bokkerink ousted by ministers this week amid complaints from the business community against the regulator.
Officials said ministers wanted to send a signal to the CMA and other independent regulators that the government wanted to prioritize growth.
Bokkerink's exit has led antitrust lawyers and lobbyists to question whether the CMA will now take a softer approach to big tech companies. In the interim, Bokkerink has been replaced by Doug Gurr, the former head of Amazon UK.
At a staff meeting Thursday, Caddell sought to reassure employees that they did not need to worry about Bocklinck's departure and that the administration had pledged its confidence in the agency, a person familiar with the matter said.
While staff exit plans were already in the works before Bocklinck was ousted, some employees worry the agency could see further layoffs given the administration's dissatisfaction with the agency.
The antitrust regulator's headcount has grown significantly over the past eight years, from about 600 employees in 2017 to 1,185 employees in October 2024, according to the latest disclosures.
The CMA has expanded its reach from London to a number of centers across the UK. Part of the growth is due to a raft of powers under its new digital markets regime, which comes into force this month and has led to the agency setting up a digital markets unit to enforce it.
Under the new regime, the CMA will designate some large tech companies with large operations in certain digital markets as having a "strategic market position" and force them to comply with certain conduct rules.
Google and Apple became the first companies this month to be investigated to determine whether they deserve the status.
The CMA said: "This was a historic budget issue that was resolved quickly and appropriately. The CMA is fully focused on its priorities for the coming year, including working with the government and the new interim chair to help deliver growth."
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.