Earlier this week, CBD brought you the news of the departure of Ladbrokes chief executive Jason Scott — and his replacement by former boss Dean Shannon. Shannon, as we recalled, had left in 2017 and established his own online betting outfit Neds, which he sold to his former company in December for $95 million. Scott's abrupt departure — it was only noted when his emails began to bounce back on Monday morning — was the talk of the industry. But signs of a major upheaval started weeks ago, we're now told. That's when around a dozen staff were punted from Ladbrokes' bookies division in a bid to trim the headcount which swelled substantially after Neds was acquired.