Industry faces job cuts and closures

17 October 2008

By BD news desk

Practices caught unawares by sudden impact of banking crisis

Britain’s architecture profession could be facing the prospect of mass redundancies and even three or four-day weeks in the wake of the worldwide banking crisis.

A consultant who works with some of London’s leading architects, but who did not wish to be named, told BD that 15 practices in the last fortnight had told him they were anticipating making between a third to a half of their staff redundant or alternatively reducing the working week by up to two days.

Atkins design director Martin Pease also predicted that one in five practices would go bust in the coming months.

A number of firms across the UK contacted by BD this week confirmed that they had been forced to make redundancies in the past few weeks, with many others saying they were considering such action.

Roger Stephenson, partner at Manchester-based Stephenson Bell and outgoing president of RIBA North West, said he had made five staff redundant in the past month. “Anyone who is seriously involved in housing is really badly hit,” he said. “I’ve heard of firms having cut up to a quarter of their staff. These are reasonably sized practices.

Graham Morrison, partner at Allies & Morrison (o boss da Sara!), said the firm had so far avoided laying off any of its 270 staff but added that he feared for friends in the profession.

We would love to sound like we have a strategy… but it is very difficult to plan when cataclysmic things happen at such short notice. I don’t believe anyone has any real strategy.”

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