We’ve received a few tips today concerning layoffs at LBi, which last we remember hired away a JWT exec to serve as director of innovation in NY and won digital business for Grolsch and Peroni prior to that. Well, we’ve received confirmation from the agency that cuts were indeed made and here’s a statement from its U.S. CEO, Frank Pedersen, to clarify:

“LBi has today made the difficult decision to restructure our US operations to be better positioned to serve our current and new clients and win new ones on a global scale. As a result we are reducing our 300-person US staff by 7%. We are confident that by rebalancing our resources we will continue to experience significant US growth.”

We are hearing some spies that the New York office was mostly affected, and possibly Atlanta as well as its Syrup unit, though we haven’t been able to confirm this as of yet. We’ll let you know if this changes.

We’ve been hearing for well over a week that Syrup founding partner, CEO and president Rob Holzer was no longer with the LBi-owned shop and now the agency finally confirms the news. With Holzer leaving after 12 years to “pursue new opportunities within the industry,” Omino Gardezi (um, pictured) is being promoted to MD of Syrup while Jakob Daschek continues in his role as ECD.

On the LBi front, Frank Pedersen, formally the agency’s US COO, will now serve as CEO of the organization stateside while co-president Judith Carr will step into the role of US president of LBi and MD of the New York office. As we reported in September, Christian Anthony, formerly CEO and Jason Klein, formally co-president, have left and will now be pursuing new entrepreneurial opportunities.

Just over six months after their digital agency, Special Ops Media, was combined with IconNicholson as part of parent company LBi’s move into the U.S. (they even sent us ice cream to celebrate), Christian Anthony and Jason Klein (pictured)  have now left the agency. Anthony and Klein became CEO and co-president, respectively, once the merger took place back at the beginning of March. Special Ops has been housed under the LBi umbrella since it was acquired by the latter in April 2008. We received this statement from LBi:

“LBi announced changes this week to the US executive team due to the successful integration of the two agencies concluding earlier than expected. Frank Pedersen, formally COO of the LBi in the US, will now serve as CEO of the US operation. Co-President Judith Carr will step into the role of President of LBi in the US and Managing Director of the New York flagship.  Christian Anthony, formerly CEO and Jason Klein, formally Co-President, have both decided to focus on new entrepreneurial opportunities. ”

More: “Cedric Devitt to ECD at LBi“