Foster + Partners plan redundancies in response to industry 'uncertainty'
by Kim Megson | 25 Apr 2017
Foster + Partners employ more than 1,250 people in London, and also have staff based in New York, Shanghai and Dubai, among other international cities / Foster + Partners
The architectural firm of Norman Foster have confirmed they plan to lay off almost 100 people as a result of “uncertainty in the construction market.”
According to a company statement “a cross-section of the team” will be be affected, with staff working at the firm’s British headquarters in Battersea, south-west London, bearing the brunt of the restructure.
Foster + Partners employ more than 1,250 people in London, and also have staff based in New York, Shanghai and Dubai, among other international cities.
“Foster + Partners have grown significantly over the last two years with a record number of projects, many of which are now close to completion,” said the company.
“This, coupled with some uncertainty in the construction market, has led us to make some adjustments to our practice, which regrettably includes some redundancies enabling us to balance numbers with our current and foreseeable workload.”
According to the Guardian, the firm’s turnover rose from £188m (US$241.1m, €221.3m) in 2015 to £225m (US$288.5m, €264.8m) in 2016, but its full-year pre-tax profits dropped from £51.1m (US$65.5m, €60.1m) to £33.4m (US$42.8m, €39.3m).
Most of their revenues are generated overseas.
The newspaper added that uncertainty surrounding the effects of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union is one motivation for the redundancies.
Architects David Chipperfield, Rem Koolhaas, Richard Rogers, David Adjaye, Ron Arad and designer Thomas Heatherwick are among the British and European figures who have claimed the Brexit vote will have a negative impact on the architecture and construction industries in the UK.
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The architectural firm of Norman Foster have confirmed they plan to lay off almost 100 people as a result of “uncertainty in the construction market.” According to a company statement “a cross-section of the team” will be be affected, with staff working at the firm’s British headquarters in Battersea, south-west London, bearing the brunt of the restructure. Foster + Partners employ more than 1,250 people in London, and also have
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