Jarvis scales down Scottish operations

Jarvis is scaling back its operations in Scotland after a slowdown in work across the region. It has made redundancies in its Glasgow office and released its regional construction director.

The changes, which will take immediate effect, mean Jarvis will only go for "attractive opportunities" in the region, sparking rumours that it will move away from traditional construction there in favour of PFI work.

Six redundancies have already been announced by Jarvis from the office's 350 workforce. Jarvis is unable to rule out the threat of further redundancies. Questions remain over how the group will be able to resource large PFI schemes in Scotland by working with reduced numbers.

One council source said it was becoming "very cautious" over Jarvis' bid for East Renfrewshire Council's £50m PFI scheme to rebuild and extend four schools. The group is up against HBG and Stirling-based Robertson.

"We are becoming increasingly aware of Jarvis' position and we now have to consider its potential to deliver the project," said the insider.

Jarvis claimed it had re-assured clients that the scaling-back was "carefully planned", although one rival bidder told CJ that Jarvis intended to resource its PFI schemes from other areas.

Jarvis confirmed that future bids would still involve the Glasgow office, although there will be more use of its Altrincham offices and the set up of temporary office locations.

In a statement, the company said: "We are bidding for a schools PFI scheme in Scotland. Jarvis has no projects under construction in any part of Scotland, where, historically, there has been an erratic workflow. We will actively pursue other opportunities in the future."

It continued: "The Glasgow office is open, but is currently operating at a reduced level."

Regional construction director Tony Pope was made redundant for two reasons: there being no current construction work in Scotland and a duplication of roles caused by the restructure.