Jobs to go at Blue Circle
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• Fifty seven of Blue Circle's directly employed drivers are to lose their jobs early next year as part of a rationalisation programme. But outside operators could benefit from plans to switch cement distribution from rail to road.
In all, 13 of the cement giant's 23 distribution depots will close with others switching to parttime working: 27 drivers' jobs will go in Kent including 14 at Shoreham and seven at Theale when the two depots close. Six jobs will be lost at the Northfleet works.
Depot closures at Carlisle and Heaton will cost five drivers' jobs at each and three more will go with the closure of the Middlesbrough office.
Other job losses from depot closures are: Exeter, 4; United Downs in Devon, 1; Aberdeen, 3; Irvine, 1; Norwich, 2; and Kirton Lindsey, South Humberside, 2.
Two jobs will go from the Hope works on Humberside and two at the Uddingston operation in Scotland, although neither site will close. All the redundancies are subject to a three-month consultancy period. None of the spot hire or longer term contract hire operations will be affected, says the company.
Blue Circle also plans to switch cement distribution from rail to road next spring, beginning in the North-East.
Overall the company is shedding 550 workers, 20% of its workforce, closing a cement kiln and mothballing another following pessimistic forecasts of cement demand in the construction sector which has been badly hit by the recession.
The moves will reduce Blue Circle's cement capacity from 7.9 million tonnes to 6.7 million — the company produces almost half the cement used in the UK.
Group managing director Keith Orrell-Jones says he regrets the job losses: "These measures will improve our capacity utilisation throughout the demand cycle," he adds. "The profit prospects for our UK cement operations will be signficantly enhanced."