MUSIC group EMI could be planning to axe nearly 1,000 jobs next week.

The group is thought to be planning a major restructuring project aimed at cutting costs by slashing more than ten per cent of its 9,000 staff from its recorded music division.

It is thought the group, home to Robbie Williams and Gorillaz, will announce the cuts on Wednesday.

The restructuring will follow a troubled time for EMI, which has issued two profit warnings in six months and also seen two mergers aborted in the past two years.

It also follows a disastrous relationship with singer Mariah Carey, who saw her contract terminated after her album Glitter flopped, at a cost of nearly £20m to EMI.

No one from EMI wished to comment on the speculation.