Conder Structures to cut 60 jobs

Conder, the structural steelwork specialist, is set to make around 60 of its 180 staff redundant as a result of a drop in demand.

Overall, workload has dropped by a third. Worst hit are the speculative warehousing and office sectors where demand is close to non-existent.

A Conder spokesman said: “We see a continuing decline in demand for structural steelwork running to a peak of 40% in 2009. We have anticipated this.

“Back in 2000, Conder was a weak business in a strong market but as a result of major reshaping that has all changed and today our pro-active management of a difficult situation should leave Conder as a strong business in a weak period.”

Market rumours suggest that Conder is not alone, with Barrett Steel also thought to have made staff redundant.

Margins are down and some steelwork groups are thought to be attempting to buy time by taking work at non-existent margins.

There is a squeeze from main contractors who are asking specialist steelwork subcontractors for fixed price quotes that are locked in for as much as six to eight months ahead, despite the fact that steel and other commodities have been rising in price by as much as 7%-15% in recent weeks.

Conder has started a 30-day consultation period with its staff. The jobs at risk divide between 44 involved in works processes and 17 in the office.

“In the last few years, Conder has invested £3m in improving its workshop capabilities, so with the efficiency level having moved up, there will be no reduction in capacity,” said the spokesman.

“It might seem that it is the main contractors who are wriggling and squeaking, but in fact they themselves are suffering from the promise of jobs that are slipping away.

“In our case, a number of negotiated projects, taken on verbal orders and where we were not expecting to be on site until next year, have been put on hold, pending funding issues that still need to be solved.”

Two areas of sunshine are schools and PFI where demand is holding up – though even here work can only be won at very low prices. “That’s because others are desperate for work,” said the spokesman.

Conder’s managing director Jason Hensman is planning to talk to the group’s main clients to explain the situation in detail.