Advertising and marketing group WPP is to axe 7,200 jobs this year, expected to include scores of posts in the UK. The company, which owns MediaCom, Metro Ecosse and BDG McColl in Edinburgh, has already cut around half this number from its workforce in an effort to combat tough conditions in the recession.

The business has suffered as difficult economic conditions lead companies to slash their advertising and marketing expenditure. Reports suggest more UK jobs could be affected as the firm looks to reduce its global staff number by six per cent to 106,000 by the end of 2009. Jobs in the weak markets of Europe and the US will also be slashed.

Last week, founder and chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell indicated that WPP's like-for-like revenue would probably fall by around 5 per cent this year, about double what he predicted two months ago. The firm said its UK and US markets had suffered the worse effects of the economic slowdown.

London-based WPP, whose clients include Ford and HSBC, saw income fall 5.8 per cent in the first three months of the year. However, there was no official comment on the latest round of job cuts.

"In the balance of 2009, the short-term focus will continue to be on balancing the likely fall in revenues against staff costs and headcount," the company said during the quarterly update. "The first half of 2009 will clearly be very difficult, with the second half, although continuing to be tough, likely to improve relatively."

However, it saw total revenue surge by 11 per cent in the first quarter thanks to an aggressive acquisition strategy. And it said Latin America, Africa and Eastern Continental Europe still showed like-for-like growth.

It is thought that jobs cut at WPP will be either through redundancy or by not replacing those who leave.

The company, which also runs advertising campaigns for Colgate, IBM and Kellogg's, has said almost a third of the roles it has already cut were due to not replacing workers, rather than severance.

WPP's board is also undertaking a ''comprehensive'' search for a successor to Sorrell, the company's founder and chief executive, who is 64, according to its annual report.