• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, March 18, 2009

Interpublic's Universal McCann unit Monday initiated a staff reduction of nearly 8% of its U.S. workforce, MediaDailyNews has learned.

Although details of the restructuring have not been publicly announced, the move likely was related to reduced client billings.

While UM has not lost any notable accounts recently, clients have been "dialing down" their budgets, due to the impact of the general economy.

"UM has come to a difficult decision," UM management said in an internal memo obtained by MDN. "We have reduced our U.S. staff by less than 8%. While this isn't a large percentage of our population, we do not take this action lightly. We are always looking at ways to deliver a better product for our clients, including restructuring our business model to put us in an even stronger position going forward."