Construction and quarrying company, Breedon Group, has confirmed that it is consulting on redundancies within its Northern Ireland quarrying business.

Despite acquiring Ballymena’s Robinson Quarry Masters early in 2023 in addition to its quarrying at what was formerly Whitemountain Quarries, the group said that it was consulting with the staff who will be affected.

In its November trading update Breedon Group said “the pipeline in Northern Ireland was impacted by the ongoing lack of a governing assembly”.

The accounts published by Breedon Group for December 2022 showed that there were 46 less people employed by Whitemountain Quarries, with staff now totalling 180.

It is not, as yet, clear how many staff will be affected by this latest announcement.

A Breedon Group spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have announced a number of redundancies within Breedon Ireland and we’re currently in consultation with those individuals. No further comment will be provided during this consultation process.”
The reported accounts showed Whitemountain Quarries had recorded pre-tax-profits of £10.8m.

In the November Trading Update Breedon said: “We continue to generate good free cash flow and are on track to deliver a further reduction in covenant leverage at the year end, providing financial flexibility to continue to invest for growth.”

That same update, just weeks ahead of the confirmation of redundancies Breedon Group said it cared about its staff.

“Our strategic focus on ensuring Breedon is a great place to work, taking care of our people and the communities around our sites, has once again been reflected in both our financial performance as well as our colleague engagement, of which I am particularly proud,” said Rob Wood, CEO in the November update. “. But we never settle – we will continue to seek ways to operate as efficiently and sustainably as possible, invest in our people and grow our business so we are positioned to succeed when the construction materials market returns to growth.”