Thu 5 Jun 2008
More housebuilding jobs to go
A third of all housebuilding jobs could be cut by the end of this year, according to Swiss investment bank UBS.UBS yesterday advised investors to sell shares in housebuilders, wiping £300m off the sector’s market value. The bank’s bleak view follows on from Persimmon’s announcement that it is axing 5% – 300 employees – of its workforce.
A spokesman for Persimmon commented: “We are in a consultation period. After that we will be making a reduction in the workforce, about several hundred, due to the challenging market.”
In April, Persimmon announced that it was not going to construct any new homes in the short-term, after sales plunged by a fifth.
Over the past few weeks Taylor Wimpey has cut 600 jobs, while brokers expect around 400 jobs to go at Bellway.
Simon Brown (pictured), analyst at Icelandic financial services firm Landsbanki, told the City to expect more redundancies across the housebuilding industry.
He said: “Given the state of the housing market they (Persimmon) will be trimming back. Two hundred to three hundred (job losses) is quite possible, although it could be more.
“There could be a 30% reduction of workforce across the whole sector by the end of the year.”
Related news
Persimmon is expected to be replaced on the benchmark FTSE 100 index, by a mining firm, at the next quarterly review, according to Aberdeen Asset Managers.
The change reflects the recent turmoil in financial markets with fall out from the credit crunch make it tough for housebuilders.
Posted by Marc Da-Silva
in Aberdeen Asset Managers, Bellway, Landsbanki, News, Persimmon Homes, Taylor Wimpey, UBS on Thu 5 Jun 2008
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