Ireland's Largest Construction Firm Lays Off 300

The Sisk Group, the larget construction firm in Ireland has laid off more than 10% of its staff this year.

The Group Chief Executive, Liam Nagle, said around 300 of its 2,900 workers had been made redundant on a phased basis from the business.

The employee cuts at Sisk Group are believed to be the result of the continuing downturn in the building industry.

He said he did not rule out further job losses and he added that the level of future business activity was difficult to predict at present.


However, Mr Nagle said the construction unit had a large order book for 2008 and was well positioned for 2009.

According to reports, the business experienced an 8.3% rise in turnover to €1.81% in 2007, but Mr Nagle said group turnover was likely to drop this year to €1.5bn or €1.6bn.

Last month, Sisk became the 100th company to be awarded the prestigious CPD (Continuing Professional Development) accreditation by Engineers Ireland.

The company also reported a 20% rise in sales in its British unit to €314.1m last year and expects to compete for tenders for projects linked to the London Olympic games in 2012.

However, Mr Nagle also said he did not rule out further job losses.

(DW)