THE jobs axe is falling at one of York’s major employers as bosses at Portakabin announce 80 redundancies, The Press can reveal.

The 700 production workers and office staff at the Huntington plant were told the news yesterday, as the company struggles in the recession and the large-scale downturn in the construction industry.

The Press revealed last year how the company, backed by a trade union, had downed tools three days early for an enforced Christmas holiday in a bid to combat the lean times.

But with no sign of an early recovery in the economy, now bosses at the family-owned business say they have been forced to resort to redundancies.

One worker told The Press: “The lads are dumbstruck. They couldn’t believe it, even though we’ve known the work hasn’t been around we’d all hoped it wouldn’t come to this.

“Now we all face the lottery of uncertainty about our jobs, it’s just not good. It’s been plain to see that work has been drying up, with all the construction projects being halted the cabins are just not going out of the gates fast enough.

“Some of the lads have talked about going to a four-day week, but we know that might not be enough. The company has said the jobs will be across the board, but we have to fear the axe will fall hardest on the manufacturing side.”

While Portakabin, which is owned by the York-based Shepherd Group, employs 1,480 workers across its divisions the redundancies will only affect the 700 employed in York. A 30-day consultation period over the job losses begins today.

Chris Mason, a spokesman for Portakabin, said: “The sustained decline in the performance of the UK economy has resulted in a contraction of the UK market for modular buildings. This has affected the Portakabin Group and is expected to continue at these lower levels for a considerable period.

“Consequently, the company has entered into a reorganisation and restructuring exercise that may result in approximately 80 positions being made redundant.

“Considerable efforts have already been made to mitigate the effect of the downturn, including the release of temporary employees and expenditure controls.

“Plans to develop new product lines and expand into new geographical territories are pushing ahead.

“This is a big family company. We are exploring all the options in a bid to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies.”

John Taylor, Unite union convenor at Portakabin, said: “We tried, like most firms at Christmas with the early shutdown, but it hasn’t helped.

“We’re now in a consultation period and the union starts talks today and we’ll be trying to mitigate the numbers as best we can.”


‘Part of the community’

City of York Council leader Andrew Waller said: “Portakabin are part of the York community and this decision will not have been taken lightly.

“At the council we are looking at how we can keep building projects going which is vital for local firms connected with the construction industry.

“We have to keep the show on the road and the council and business need to pull together to keep the training, the capacity and the jobs for when the recovery comes.”

Susie Cawood, York’s head of the Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Obviously, we are terribly sorry for the people this will affect and for the Shepherd Group which owns Portakabin because we know how much there care about their staff. I hope that they can be absorbed into the York job market, whether by retraining or in a similar profession.”