Job losses hitting building supplies sector

As activity in the national and local construction industry continues to slow and many workers face an uncertain future following the annual builders" holidays, related industries are also starting to feel the pinch. Companies that supply the building industry as well as the auctioneering firms and mortgage companies have seen a very significant fall-off in business and some have had to let employees go. Figures recently released confirm the slowdown in building across the county with the number of new buildings in Meath down 13 per cent for the first six months on the same period last year. GeoDirectory, the company jointly established by An Post and Ordnance Survey Ireland to create and manage a database of every building in the Republic of Ireland, identified 1,509 new commercial and residential buildings across Meath between January and June, down from 1,702 for the same period in 2007. This brings the total number of buildings in Meath to 66,694 at the end of June. However, national figures show a decrease of 57 per cent in new buildings across the country compared with the same period last year with figures dropping from 60,781 new buildings in the first half of 2007 to 26,289 for the first half of 2008. Growing concerns at layoffs in construction-related firms in north Meath and Cavan also have prompted claims this week that the downturn has a long way to run. Gypsum Industries has brought forward a two-week closure ahead of the annual builders" holidays and has reduced shifts in its Kingscourt plant. In both factories, temporary workers have been shed since the start of the year. At least three factories in Oldcastle have been shedding temporary workers during the same period and the exposure of the furniture and bedding industries to the downturn in housebuilding has increased local fears that permanent jobs will soon be at risk. One local businessman this week pointed to the very conspicuous reduction in the Lithuanian and Polish population in the district as an indication to the reduction in jobs locally. The latest CSO live register figures on 4th July last showed a rise of 401 people signing on in Kells, Trim and Navan between May and June. The figure for the county"s three exchanges stood at 4,901 at the start of July, nearly 1,600 higher than June 2007. Meanwhile, Readymix plc, the building materials company which has operations in Gormanston and Rathmolyon, recently announced that for the first six months of the year it expects a loss before tax of approximately €10m. This figure includes €2.7m of one-off costs associated with the reshaping of the business. Total revenues from continuing operations are down 12 per cent versus the same period last year, and the company is expecting an operating loss before non-recurring items of €7m for the first half of the year. In response to the deteriorating market conditions, the company has rationalised 12 per cent of its operating sites and reduced personnel by 15 per cent. Readymix plc has predicted 'very difficult trading conditions' for the remainder of the year and stated that infrastructure projects have not compensated for the decline in the housing sector, and margins will continue to come under pressure from higher fuel and energy costs. The current downturn was 'extremely bad', according to Cllr Tommy Grimes, Kells, a member of the Construction Industry Monitoring Agency, which oversees pension contributions from building workers. One national craft union alone had reported contributions from members to this fund falling by nearly three-quarters last year, he said. The sheer volume of unsold houses had first to be cleared before any major new housebuilding was likely to get underway. Current market conditions would further prolong any recovery but he added he remained confident that this was not far off.