According to reports, 25 percent of the layoffs involve senior-level directors and executives in Seattle. The Company says that the restructuring plan came from a review of the company's cost and organizational structures and will cost about $4m to implement. It is expected to result in annualized savings of about $20m in staff and staff related costs.

In addition to Klein, the move to New York involves the Senior Vice President of Marketing, who Getty is in the process of hiring, plus communications and public relations execs.

Getty announced a second quarter revenue increase of 6.5 percent to $218 million compared with the second quarter of 2006, and described the traditional Creative Stills business as "challenging". A glitch in its recently launched e-commerce enabled footage website meant that clips were displayed incorrectly and were not included in certain search returns, costing the Company about $1.5 million in lost earnings.