The employees affected are based in two of Shepherd Construction’s divisions – East division which covers Yorkshire to Cambridgeshire, and West division extending from Manchester and Liverpool in the north west to the Midlands.
In a statement to the York Press, the company said that in spite of recent contract successes, it was continuing to review its operations “to ensure we remain competitive in response to the challenges presented by the economic climate and its impact on the UK construction marketplace”.
This has resulted in the decision “to move to a complete subcontract basis, rather than maintain our own direct labour”.
The statement added: “As a result we can confirm that we are now entering a consultation period with 120 direct labour employees.”
“Much more of our work now involves non-traditional building methods such as cladding systems and the off-site manufacture of bathroom and kitchen pods that, in turn, has reduced the opportunity for on-site work within areas such as joinery and brickwork.”
It said ways would be explored to reduce the numbers affected and mitigate the effects of redundancy.
“We will work closely with our colleagues to consider all other opportunities across our business and the wider group.”