LONDON (AP) — British music giant EMI Group PLC is preparing to cut up to 2,000 jobs, or about one-third of its work force, as part of a contentious restructuring plan being prepared by the group's new owner, Terra Firma Capital Partners, reports said yesterday.

The Sunday Telegraph said most of the cuts would be made in marketing, and The Sunday Times said that Guy Hands, the equity group's chief executive officer, wanted to drop thousands of artists from EMI's roster.

Terra Firma bought EMI, which has the Beastie Boys, Coldplay, the Rolling Stones and Kylie Minogue on its books, for £2.4 billion ($4.9 billion) in August.

Hands already has said he wants EMI to be more selective with its partnerships, telling artists they would be dropped if they did not work hard enough.

The warning, from in a leaked memo, did not name any artists, but EMI has been plagued in the past by late delivery of albums by some of its most important acts.

The Sunday Telegraph said Hands was hoping to more than double the company's profits. But some of the music publisher's biggest names are bristling at Terra Firma's attempt to whip EMI into shape.

British pop idol Robbie Williams' manager said Williams, who reportedly signed an £80 million ($157 million) deal with EMI in 2002, was on strike in protest. The Telegraph said Coldplay also was threatening to withhold new records unless it received assurances about marketing.

Both the Times and Telegraph said the announcement was expected tomorrow when Hands lays out his plans for the company's future.