Five jobs go with closure of Travis Perkins branch at Thurso
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FIVE jobs are being lost in Thurso with the closure of the Travis Perkins builders' merchants in the town.
The company is set to shut 165 of its branches in the UK with the loss of 2500 staff – nine per cent of its workforce – in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
It is understood the Thurso outlet in the town's Station Square is to cease trading from midnight tonight, although the company would not confirm that.
Travis Perkins, which has had a presence in Caithness for about 15 years, says its plans are a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the poor economic outlook. It also stressed the closures will affect branches where it is difficult to implement safe working practices or where reduced volumes are impacting on profitability.
The Covid pandemic has created significant challenges across our group.
The company says it will do its best to retain staff where possible and has started a consultation process with the staff but acknowledges around 2500 employees are set to go.
Travis Perkins plc chief executive Nick Roberts said: "The Covid pandemic has created significant challenges across our group and I have been hugely encouraged by the flexibility of our colleagues to adapt our business models successfully and at pace, which has enabled us to maintain safe working practices while continuing to provide an effective service to our customers.
"While we have experienced improving trends more recently, we do not expect a return to pre-Covid trading conditions for some time and consequently we have had to take the very difficult decision to begin consultations on the closure of selected branches and to reduce our workforce to ensure we can protect the group as a whole. This is in no way a reflection on those employees impacted and we will do everything we can to support them during this process."
He added: "We have a robust balance sheet and a strong liquidity position and I am confident that these proposed changes will enable us to trade successfully through this period of uncertainty with a cost base that better reflects the environment we are operating in."
The loss of the Thurso branch of Travis Perkins will result in the loss of five jobs but will also impact on the many local firms the company supplied.
The company is the UK’s largest distributor of building materials and owns a number of chains including Wickes and Toolstation, and has 2154 branches around the country.
