Jobs losses at Hanson as brick demand hits 20-year low

Hanson has warned that demand for bricks has fallen to its lowest level for 20 years, as it closed its fourth brickworks in 18 months.

The firm has mothballed its Caernarfon brickworks plant with the loss of 50 jobs.

Production at the North Wales facility will stop on 2 May, with the company blaming a number of factors for the shutdown.

The closure follows the demise of Hanson's Stewartby plant in Bedfordshire last month, where 230 people lost their jobs.

Meanwhile, two other facilities have also closed in Ripley, Derbyshire and Southend-on-Sea. Around 50 people are thought to have lost their jobs at each plant.

A spokesman said: "Not only is there a credit crunch, but there is also a slump in building new houses. And with more people living alone, more flats and maisonettes are being built - and these require 33% fewer bricks than conventional houses."

Referring to the latest closure, he also put the blame on rising energy prices and "the increase in costs to transport the bricks from the relatively isolated site".

But he stressed that Hanson was "only mothballing the brickworks in the hope that it can re-open when and if demand picks up again" - it is understood that Hanson will review the market in 12 months' time.

The company has no immediate plans to close any other of its brickworks and claimed that the workforce at the Caernarfon plant are both "understanding and pragmatic" about the situation.

"They can see the stock of bricks keeping on piling up and realise that things can't go on like this."

The Seiont site in Caernarfon had an ouput of 30 million bricks a year.

According to local MP Hywel Williams, Hanson has said it will "work with all the relevant local agencies in order to find jobs for the workers and will offer retraining opportunities".

But Bob Blackman, TGWU's national secretary for construction, said: "The reality is that job opportunities are very limited in North Wales - it's difficult to find jobs that pay above the minimum wage.

"We're very concerned for the workforce and we'll be doing all we can to get workers there the best severance and redundancy deals."