Laing O’Rourke swings the axe at offsite plant

Laing O’Rourke has said that around 60 staff at its offsite arm face the threat of redundancy because of the impact of stalled schemes.

The firm said it had told staff at its Centre of Excellence for Modern Construction (CEMC) in Steetley, Nottinghamshire, yesterday the jobs were at risk. The firm employs 355 staff at the plant, meaning 17% of jobs are under threat.

In a statement, the firm said: “We informed members of our workforce of a proposal that could reduce the number of roles at the facility by up to 60.

“Due to challenging market conditions, we have seen delays to some of the projects CEMC was set to service. Therefore, we need to reduce our operating costs, while continuing to deliver projects and protect our ability to invest in the technology and innovations that will transform construction.”

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Last summer, the firm said it was cutting 200 jobs in the UK with chief operating officer Cathal O’Rourke blaming “delays to some of the major public works we have geared up for” for the losses.

Last November, the firm said that problem jobs in the UK and the cost of a dispute in Australia helped send it crashing to its worst set of results since the business was formed in 2001 racking up a pre-tax loss of £288m in the year to March 2023.