Building materials supplier Wolseley to cut more jobs in US.

Building materials supplier Wolseley is to cut a further 1,300 jobs in the US due to the slowdown in the housing market, it announced on Wednesday 28 November.

Wolseley plc, the world’s largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a leading supplier of building materials, is poised to cut further jobs after revealing that the slowdown in the US housing market helped wipe 30% from its American profits.

The American market is vital for Wolseley, as it accounts for nearly half of its business. Both the new residential market and the repairs, maintenance and improvements sector were hit by falling consumer confidence.

The group reduced headcount in its US operations by 1,700 people at the end of October, and with the further 1,300 cuts planned, the combined annual savings will be £60 million.

After the next wave of job losses, headcount at Stock, its US building supplies operation, will have fallen by a third from its peak last year. One in ten jobs will have been axed at Ferguson, its American plumbing and heating showroom chain.

Chip Hornsby, Group Chief Executive of Wolseley, said: “The group continues to take swift and decisive action in the more challenging business conditions. Although sales trends and the outlook are uncertain, we remain committed to our strategy.

“Whilst keeping a tight control on costs, we will continue to invest to create competitive advantage. We remain confident that with our size, scale and financial strength, we will emerge from this slowdown as a stronger competitor with an excellent platform for future growth.”

Wolseley shares fell 21.5p or 3.26% to 639p in early trading on 28 November. At the start of the year, before the sub-prime crisis and the liquidity crisis, they were trading at £14.

Wolseley operates in 28 countries throughout Europe and North America with its global headquarters in Reading, UK. It employs around 79,000 people with around 5,000 branches worldwide.

For more information, visit: www.wolseley.com