Tarmac to close Wolverhampton HQ, sparking job fears for 500 workers

The building materials firm aims to wind down its base in Wolverhampton over the next 12 to 18 months as part of a joint venture agreement with concrete company Lafarge.

The new headquarters for the joint venture would be at Lafarge's site in Solihull, leaving workers at the Ettingshall base fearing for their future.

Workers said although the main head office would be shut down, other elements of the business currently on the Millfields Road site, such as the laboratory, were expected to stay open.

One worker, who did not want to be named, said: "We don't know what's going to happen now. They are sending employees to Solihull but we've been given no details about whether we'll have jobs or not."

Another worker arriving for his shift today said: "We don't know exactly when the shutdown will happen but it will be in the next year.

"This is typical of big business nowadays. The workers are kept in the dark till the last minute. They know very well that if the lads are told they are going down the road in three months time, they will get no work from them for those last three months."

Tarmac has been part of Wolverhampton since the early 1900s when it was formed as the Tarmacadam Syndicate.

Pat McFadden, MP for Wolverhampton South East said: "This is a bitter blow for the local area and the local economy.

"Tarmac has a very long history in Wolverhampton and we are losing not only much needed jobs but a company with iconic significance for the city. I have spoken to the chief executive and expressed my disappointment with the decision. What we need desperately in Wolverhampton is more jobs and more businesses coming here, not companies like Tarmac leaving the area."

Emma Reynolds, MP for Wolverhampton North East, said: "This is really bad news for Wolverhampton.

"I hope that people at Tarmac will keep their jobs, even if they are in Solihull.

"It is a real shame at a time when Wolverhampton has had some good news in the form of the new Jaguar Land Rover engine plant at the i54 and our aerospace cluster is thriving."

Tarmac chief executive Terry Last said: "We are currently consulting with employees on how the Tarmac/Lafarge joint venture will be structured once the regulatory process is complete.

"It would be inappropriate to comment publicly while these conversations with employees are still ongoing."

Tarmac's owner, mining group Anglo-American, bought the Wolverhampton business shortly after it split from its construction arm Carillion in 1999.

The firm makes aggregates, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt and employs around 4,500 across the UK.

The deal with French quarrying giant Lafarge is worth more than £2 billion.

The closure plan is believed to be down to a ruling from the Competition Commission, which required the two companies to sell sites in order to be allowed to go ahead with the joint venture.