Battered building firm says 100 more jobs at risk

Published on Tuesday 4 November 2008 22:33

MORE than 100 jobs are under threat at the Stewart Milne Group, one of Scotland's biggest construction firms, it was announced yesterday – just four months after the firm revealed plans for nearly 300 redundancies.

The Aberdeenshire firm's further woes, caused by the housing slump, emerged as a key survey reported the sharpest contraction in the industry since records began.

Economists described the data in the construction purchasing managers' survey for October as "absolutely dire".

A spokesman for Stewart Milne said: "The continuing effect of the economic downturn on the house-building sector had led Stewart Milne Group to announce 44 redundancies across its business throughout the UK. A further 73 roles are at risk.

"The employees affected come from a combination of divisions with those most affected being involved with the housing sector. Enhanced redundancy packages and full support has been provided to those affected." The firm had a workforce of more than 1,000 at the beginning of the year but in July announced plans to cut 289 jobs – 20 per cent of the workforce. The losses included 120 jobs in the North-east and 73 in the Central Belt.

Managing director Glenn Allison said: "The housing market continues to be impacted significantly. This has led to a reduced level of sales across our business."

His assessment was borne out by the construction purchasing survey. It showed the sector had shrunk for an eighth successive month – this time at the sharpest rate in the survey's 11-year history – and house-building was particularly depressed.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at Global Insight, said: "The construction sector is already firmly in recession, even if the overall economy is not technically there yet.

"With housing-market activity and prices likely to remain depressed for some considerable time and the commercial property sector in dire straits, the construction sector looks set for an extended struggle."