Veteran sales executiveCharlotte Mickie and Salter Street Films, the Halifax-based production companybehind Michael Moore's Bowling For Columbine are the latest victims in Alliance Atlantis'cost-cutting measures.

Last week the Torontoentertainment company announced plans to cut nearly half of the positionswithin its Entertainment Group, as its production arm is known. The companyalso announced the departure of senior executives Peter Sussman and SeatonMcLean. The company will also be closing the Edmonton offices of factualproducer Great North Communications and its London-based UK subsidiary CafeProductions. Employees were informed of cuts on Monday.

Mickie, a veteran of thecompany who has headed international sales since before the merger of AllianceCommunications and Atlantis Communications, including the sale of BowlingFor Columbine, confirmed that shehad been affected but declined further comment. Telephones at Salter Street'sheadquarters went unanswered and company president Michael Donovan's name was noton the electronic directory.

In a conversation withScreenDaily.com, Alliance Atlantis spokesperson Kym Robertson re-iterated thetheme of the cuts. "We are getting out of the production of feature films,movies-of-the-week, TV series and mini-series." Robertson said the company willcomplete contracted projects it's involved with and thereafter acquire othersuch projects rather than produce them in-house. The company will continue toproduce for the fact-based sector and children's entertainment. The IndependentFilm Channel Canada, which Alliance Atlantis acquired when it purchased SalterStreet in 2001, is unaffected.

The cuts do not include thecompany's successful CSI: Crime Scene Investigation television franchise or its international televisiondistribution of programmes such as CSI and its library. The fates of three post-production properties are alsounder review -- Salter Street Digital (which is unaffected by the currentSalter Street cuts), Tattersal Casablanca and Calibre.