Off before the September axe....

IT publishing's eight hundred pound gorilla, VNU, which by the seems of things couldn't sell a Steve Jobs signed iPod at an Apple convention, is seeing staff evolve from the jungle ahead of its traditional September monkey cull.

The serial 'right-sizer' has waved goodbye to Chris Green, Computing's very own eight hundred pound gorilla, and Iain Thomson, the dry-witted ex-PR. Both have joined a 'top secret' venture at Dennis Publishing that everyone's talking about (well, straight after who'll win the world cup, Theo Walcott's girlfriend, the price of bacon, what's on telly tonight and the controversy surrounding Britain's adoption of the Gregorian calendar).

Is Dennis paying more peanuts? Or is it that Mike Magee is driving them bananas since his arrival at VNU, after the 'world's leading database company' bought The Inquirer (it can do that bit of trading capably enough) and its excellent Gutterwatch.

Either way hundreds of AEs will be having to update their Excel spreadsheets - ahem, advanced news release distribution platforms - jolly soon. Heck, that'll be a busy afternoon for them.