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Britain's biggest brickmakers have laid off more than 1,200 workers and started to send home hundreds more on a temporary basis as the housing crisis takes its toll on the supplies sector.
Hanson has axed 600 staff as it permanently closed two plants, mothballed two others and plans to either halt output for three months or take out shifts at four.
The company, owned since last year by HeidelbergCement, already has 500m bricks stockpiled at yards around the country, equal to sales it might expect in 2009. "We believe there will be further reductions in demand by the middle of next year and we do not predict any upturn until the middle or end of 2010," said a Hanson spokesman.
Among Hanson's permanent closures are plants at Stewartby, in Bedfordshire, and Swillington, near Leeds, while factories at Caernarfon, in north Wales, and Accrington, in Lancashire, have been mothballed. Workers at Kirton, in Nottinghamshire, are among those being sent home in December for 12 weeks while CRH, which owns the Ibstock brickmaker, is shutting four facilities which is expected to result on 200 employees losing their jobs.
The Vienna-based Wienerberger, the world's largest brickmaker which owns Baggeridge Brick and the Sandtoft roof tile businesses, said it had made 400 permanent redundancies as it mothballed four plants and temporarily halted production at another eight in the face of the worst conditions it has faced in 20 years.
Wolfgang Reithofer, its chief executive, said all plants in Britain were affected by its own cutbacks. "We saw a 20% fall in volumes in 2008 and expect a further 20% reduction in 2009," he added. Asked whether there could be more redundancies or further mothballing, he added: "It's not planned but, of course, I can't exclude it."
A management statement released along with its latest quarterly financial figures warns that the banking crisis has only just started to hit the global economy.
"Wienerberger expects the effects of the financial crisis on the real economy will grow even stronger and the resulting loss of jobs will have a negative influence on all sectors of business. This, in turn will lead to a further deterioration in the market climate for Wienerberger."
The group has expanded in Britain through the acquisition of Baggeridge and Sandtoft over the past two years following a sustained housing boom and indications from government that many more homes were needed.
The British property market has collapsed over the past six months forcing retrenchment for house builders such as Taylor Wimpey which admitted it had cut 1,900 jobs since the summer.
Reithofer said he had no regrets about his expansion in Britain and believed the long-term future for housebuilders and brickmakers was good due to the shortage of homes. But he admitted he had no idea when the current slump would end saying it was a "long-term crisis".
He added: "There are no signs of recovery at the moment. Will there be in 2009 or 2010? Maybe. I would not exclude it but I would not expect it either."
At least 70 of the job cuts are in Kidderminster where Wienerberger has rented a depot in an attempt to find room for 70m surplus bricks.
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