The Edit

摘要

Aecom has confirmed that 500 of its just over 4,000 staff in the UK and Ireland are facing the axe this autumn as redundancy consultations get underway. The restructuring comes as chief executive David Barwell and chief operating officer William Quarterman stand down. The firm announced that Barwell will be replaced by Colin Wood. Quarterman's replacement has yet to be announced. Staff were told of the job losses as Wood's new role was revealed. The consultant blamed falling workload resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and clients reconsidering projects. Aecom employees have told NCE that some support services are being relocated outside the UK to locations such as Romania. Aecom is not the only firm making job cuts. Figures compiled by NCE suggest that more than 7,000 jobs have been lost as a result of the pandemic. WYG confirmed that 7% of its UK workforce was to be cut as this issue of NCE went to press. In July Arup announced it would cut 350 UK jobs, while Atkins is cutting 280 jobs from its UK infrastructure division. Keltbray has also announced that 300 workers will be made redundant in "response to the economic impact of coronavirus". Other firms to have announced cuts include Bam, Carey Group, Kier, Laing O'Rourke, Mace and Sir Robert McAlpine. An Arup spokesperson said the pandemic had crystallised the need to reshape the business to reflect anticipated forward workload, business size, shape and skillsets to meet the needs of the post-pandemic construction market.