Nielsen to Lay Off 220 Scarborough Staff

Nielsen is closing Scarborough Research's call center in Sarasota, Florida, making 220 employees redundant by the end of September.

Scarborough Research was founded in 1987 and was a joint venture between Nielsen and Arbitron, before the former acquired the latter last year. The firm is now part of Nielsen's Local Insight Suite, which provides measurement services across 210 markets nationwide, connecting Americans' media consumption with their lifestyles, buying behavior and attitudes.

The ratings giant explained the closure in a statement: 'As part of the integration of Nielsen Audio, Nielsen has implemented changes across the company to enhance growth and to align our resources to meet and exceed client needs. These changes will improve productivity and innovation for the benefit of our clients and our organization.'

Last November, Nielsen made an unconfirmed number of staff redundant in its Audio division, formed after it acquired Arbitron. Shortly afterwards, it announced it would also be laying off 333 workers at the Columbia, Maryland site, which was previously Arbitron's headquarters.

Web sites: www.nielsen.com and www.scarborough.com .