French auto giant PSA Peugeot Citroën has fired London’s Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper from the £40 million UK account for its Citroën division, shifting the duties across the city to Partners BDDH.

The impetus for the move appears to have come from Havas Advertising, parent of both agencies. Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper had handled both the Citroën and the Peugeot brands, and retains the latter’s £43m account.

“Citroen achieved extraordinary growth over 2001, growing at over 50%,” explained Brett Gosper, ceo of Euro RSCG UK. “As they now become a significant player in the UK market, it was appropriate to offer them a dedicated agency in the UK.”

However, the shift will result in redundancies, thought to include Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper’s creative director Joakim Jonason.

“It’s quite amazing,” uttered Jonason, clearly dazed at the fickle workings of fate. “On Friday I was awarded the Grand Prix for [denim brand] Diesel at the Eurobest Awards, and today I was fired. There is no mercy.”

It is an important win for Partners BDDH, which lost the £8m Mercedes account last year.

News sources: AdAge Global; BrandRepublic (UK)