Some 1,500 employees or 3 percent of the worldwide work force of the newly merged Thomson Reuters Corp. reportedly are about to lose their jobs as a result of the combination.

The job cuts include 650 from the company's content, technology and operations division, and 140 journalists located primarily in Europe, according to separate internal memos cited in a Reuters news story.

An Associated Press story pegged the total number of jobs on the chopping block at 1,500, citing an unnamed source. The source told AP the layoffs will be completed by the end of this year.

Thomson Reuters had previously stated it planned to achieve cost savings of as much as $1 billion a year by eliminating jobs that overlap. Overlapping businesses include news services and earnings estimates distribution services.The $16 billion merger was consummated on April 17.