200 staff facing the axe at Miller Group

More than 200 people could lose their jobs at Miller Group when a 30-day consultation on proposed redundancies ends this week.

A source told CJ that Miller Homes would be worst hit by the cuts. But it is understood that jobs will also go at Miller Developments.

Employees at Miller Homes received a letter, which stated: "Major turbulence in the financial markets has caused a dramatic and rapid change in the commercial and residential markets, characterised by unprecedented reductions in property valuations and transactions."

It continued: "We have been compelled as a matter of some urgency to review our operations and address our costs base, and are therefore reducing staff at both site and office level."

The consultation was due to end on Monday this week.

The source claimed that although there have been earlier job cuts at the company, the latest round was the largest so far. The workforce at Miller Homes is now estimated to be around half the size it was at the start of the year.

The housebuilding arm at the £1.3bn-turnover Miller Group was thought to have been faring better than some of its rivals, with reports that it was one of the few companies in the sector still buying land.

And last week it won permission to build 1,000 Code level 4 homes on the Isle of Wight. The first homes are due for completion in 2010.

But job cuts in the industry have been rife since the property downturn, with major housebuilders making thousands of directly employed staff redundant since the start of the year.

A spokeswoman for the group said: "The Miller Group never comments on internal employee matters, which remain a private issue between the company and its employees."