Slowdown sees 1,200 architects lose their jobs

FOUR out of 10 architects — or 1,200 — lost their jobs in the last year as the property market collapsed and Government slashed spending on infrastructure.

The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) said that 2,800 architects and architectural technicians were employed in January 2008, and around 1,200 of those have since been made redundant, with many firms planning more cuts.

An additional 38% of administrative staff have also been fired, and it was calculated that the number of practices employing architectural technicians willfall 40% by March.