Shropshire jobs at threat as Travis Perkins to close branches
Builders' merchants Travis Perkins says it is to close 30 branches, affecting 600 jobs, after warning over "uncertain" trading.
The chain has branches across Shropshire, including at Ludlow, Market Drayton, Much Wenlock, Newport, Oakengates, Oswestry, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, plus just over the county borders in Leominster, Newtown and Welshpool. It also has Benchmarx branches in Shrewsbury and Telford.
At present, the locations of the job losses are not known. Travis Perkins said the branches would shut across its trade business, while it also plans to shut 10 smaller distribution centres after reviewing its plumbing and heating divisions.
The company, which employs 28,000 staff group-wide, said it hoped to relocate some of the affected staff to other sites.
Branches are expected to close across its trade brands, such as Travis Perkins, kitchen and joinery arm Benchmarx and plumbing and heating businesses BSS and PTS.
The overhaul comes as Travis Perkins said full-year underlying earnings would be "slightly" lower-than-expected, while it cautioned over the outlook for 2017.
It said: "Given that levels of future demand remain difficult to predict, the group has chosen to implement a number of efficiency programmes and branch closures to further optimise the network.
"This work includes the closure of 10 smaller distribution and fabrication centres, the write-off of certain IT legacy equipment and over 30 branch closures in our trade businesses."
