Keltbray is planning to make 300 redundancies as it grapples with the “unavoidable” impact of coronavirus on the wider economy.
The cuts are likely to result in a reduction in the number of roles in the firm’s support functions and in its built environment division, chief executive Darren James said. There will be no impact on the infrastructure division which continues to operate at “near normal, pre-crisis levels”.
James said: “Keltbray has acted decisively and responsibly during the past three months to protect our people and safeguard the business. By furloughing a third of our workforce and introducing temporary salary reductions, we have protected jobs, while continuing to support the national effort. However, the ongoing impacts of the virus on the wider economy are unavoidable and we will need to go further to emerge stronger for the future.
“Therefore, over the next few weeks we will be consulting with UK-based employees across Keltbray on plans to create a more efficient business as part of our ongoing response to the crisis.”
He added that making the redundancies would match the size of Keltbray’s cost base to its predicted work volumes in its traditional building sectors, particularly in London.
“By ensuring we run our business in a lean and efficient way, incorporating productivity gains developed through our response to the pandemic, including the widespread adoption of mobile working, we will continue to provide high quality, high value services to our clients, and maintain our financial resilience to deliver our growth strategy as the markets recover,” he said.
