Wolseley set to axe 2,000 workers

Nov 19 2008 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

PLUMBING and building supplies firm Wolseley will cut 2,000 jobs and close more than 200 branches in the UK and Ireland.

The Reading-based firm, which trades as Plumb Center and Build Center, said the moves reflected its expectations for a further decline in trading.

Wolseley, which operates more than 1,900 branches in the UK and Ireland, said the latest job cuts would be phased over the next few months.

Wolseley’s headcount reduction is one of the biggest in recent days, after a raft of UK companies including BT, JCB, truckmaker Leyland, Virgin Media, Yell and GlaxoSmithKline all announced plans to shed labour.

The job cuts at Wolseley’s UK and Ireland division are expected to reduce annual costs at the company by £80m.

The pressure on Wolseley to reduce overheads was highlighted by first quarter figures yesterday, with group trading profits down 30%.