Fears for construction jobs as capital spend down 25%

FURTHER construction layoffs are inevitable as the Government’s capital spend is running 25% behind its budgeted plans for 2010, say quantity surveyors Davis Langdon PKS (DLPKS).

The Dublin-based consultancy also said that construction companies have cut their tendering prices by 30% in the last two years, competing for contracts at “abnormally low” prices simply to keep their staff busy. Greater clarity on the State’s 2010-16 National Development Plan (NDP) would at least allow some of these businesses plan ahead, DLPKS warns.

DLPKS managing director, Norman Craig, says: “There will be more casualties. Builders are coming under pressure due to a lack of cash. They are tendering for jobs at rates that don’t make sense just to keep key staff in employment, but that is just not sustainable.