Restructuring. It’s a favorite word of the majors, used to soften the blow when two powerhouses decide to join forces. And while it might be nice to give people the benefit of the doubt, yesterday’s announcement that Capitol and Virgin are to merge sounded a tad too cheerful, which means a lot of folks are about to lose their jobs over this joyous union.

EMI Group Chairman Eric Nicoli released a statement about the merger, explaining that the parent company “must re-think [their] operations, not only to make them more efficient, but also more effective.” Capitol and Virgin will now share the name of Capitol Music Group, sort of like two people lose their own identities and wind up sharing the same last name when they get married.

As expected, Nicoli went on to explain the changes, citing workforce reductions aplenty and the plan to focus on the digital market as the future changes. In the meantime, Capitol Records president Andy Slater has stepped down, and Virgin CEO Jason Flom takes the helm. The new label will be “a front line pop, rock and urban label group.”

Read the full statement.