Carillion makes cuts to save jobs
Construction giant Carillion today announced plans to introduce flexible working hours and offer staff the chance to take extended holidays in a bid to cut costs and prevent redundancies.
It comes as one of the oldest companies in the region, Willenhall Locks and Keys Ltd, confirmed it had gone into administration, putting around 30 jobs at risk.
Staff from some departments at Wolverhampton-based Carillion were called into meetings to discuss options to save cash.
Flexible working and sabbaticals are among the moves being considered, bosses admitted today, as they claimed it was 'too premature' to discuss whether compulsory redundancies would be made.
Meanwhile David Sambrook, director at family-run Willenhall Locks, which has been in Stringes Lane since 1959, said administrators Leonard Curtis had been appointed to handle the firm's affairs.
A spokesman for Carillion, based in Birch Street, said the company had a 'strong focus on managing costs to ensure it remains as competitive as possible'. "As part of this, we briefed staff on a number of internal initiatives designed to reduce costs and improve competitiveness," he added.
It comes just days after the boss of Carillion underlined the firm's commitment to its home in Wolverhampton and revealed it will be bidding to work on a new £370 million super hospital being built in Smethwick.
The company employs around 750 people at its city centre headquarters.
By last summer, its UK construction workforce had been cut by 1,750 to 3,000.
Willenhall councillor Sean Coughlan said Willenhall Locks' struggles were 'another nail in the coffin' for the town's historic lock industry, which dates to the 16th century.
"I'm really, really disappointed to hear that we've lost another business in Willenhall," said Councillor Coughlan.
"I know people who worked there so this has touched me in a number of ways."
