Carillion latest: Job losses hit 930 as official receiver announces further redundancies

Additional 101 workers have lost their jobs

(Reuters)

A further 101 Carillion workers have been made redundant, taking total job losses at the collapsed construction firm to 930, the official receiver said on Thursday.

A further 1,221 jobs would be safeguarded, said a spokesperson for the official receiver, which is handling Carillion's liquidation.

The 101 jobs that have been cut are a mix of back-office and engineering support roles that aren't needed by new suppliers.

The spokesperson said: "Those who have lost their jobs will be able to find support through Jobcentre Plus’ Rapid Response Service and are also entitled to make a claim for statutory redundancy payments.

"The liquidation process continues and we remain focused on engaging with staff and new suppliers about any changes to jobs and contracts."

Carillion collapsed last month under a mountain of debt and a huge pension deficit.

The official receiver announced 450 Carillion staff had been made redundant on Monday, adding to the 377 let go last week.

The latest round of job losses comes just two days after Carillion’s former chief executive this week said he wished he had acted sooner the run-up to the construction firm’s collapse.

Keith Cochrane and other top bosses faced a volley of questions from MPs on Tuesday.

“Clearly the business did have issues – undoubtedly,” Keith Cochrane told a joint business and pensions select committee. “And clearly, do I wish we had done something about it sooner? Absolutely. I recognise that.”

Carillion’s former chief financial officer, Zafar Khan, who also appeared before the committee, denied that he had been “asleep at the wheel” in the run-up to the firm's demise.

The company's former boss, Richard Howson, and other departed executives have faced fierce criticism over large bonus payments they received when the company appeared to be experiencing financial difficulty.

Mr Howson was paid £1.5m in salary, bonuses and pension payments when he left Carillion in 2016, and will continue to be paid a £600,000 salary and £28,000 benefits until October 2018.

He was also paid a bonus of £293,000 in 2015. Mr Khan's predecessor as finance chief, Richard Adam, received a £215,000 bonus in 2015 and £140,000 in 2016.

Mr Khan, who told MPs this week that he was surprised by the company's collapse, will continue to receive his £425,000 salary until September this year, twelve months after he was sacked.

He was in charge of the company's accounts for just nine months, during which the company issued an £845m writedown.

Jeremy Corbyn has called on the directors to give back their bonuses.

As the firm collapsed, it emerged that, in 2016, the directors had made it harder for investors to claw back executives’ bonuses if the business encountered difficulties.