Job cuts to fall in back office and regional offices

Ray O Rourke

Laing O’Rourke has announced it is planning to cut around 200 UK jobs.

The firm - which posted a £58m pre-tax loss in its last set of results to March 2015 - said in a statement issued this morning that it had begun consulting with UK-based employees over redundancies.

The job losses will be focussed in its “support functions and a streamlining of its regional office networks”, the firm said. It will make “circa 200 redundancies”.

Laing O’Rourke said the consultation was part of a restructure to “establish a more competitive business structure across its UK operation, ensuring its project delivery teams are supported by a leaner and more operationally-focused functional overhead.”

The firm, led by chief executive and founder Ray O’Rourke (pictured), added: “The proposal will allow the organisation to increase its focus on winning and delivering the £9.2 billion of major projects and strategic frameworks currently on its order book.

“There will be no impact on client service levels as we continue to deliver world-class projects on their behalf.”

Laing O’Rourke is currently selling its £1.5bn turnover Australian business, with European contractors Ferrovial and Bouygues reported to be among the potential buyers.