黑洞社区

Turner & Townsend cut about 90 jobs this week after months of resisting redundancies on the scale of its rivals.

The losses, which will hit 7% of UK staff, follow an internal consultation.

The move is the first large-scale redundancy programme in T&T鈥檚 history. However, the firm has pledged not to cut staff pay; many of the leading QSs have reduced salaries by 12-20%.

A source close to the firm said: 鈥淎bout 90 people have been let go and that鈥檚 it for the present time. A fair proportion is in London with bits and pieces around the rest of the UK.鈥�

Vince Clancy, T&T鈥檚 chief executive, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e working hard to ensure we鈥檙e position in the best possible way to ride out this recession.鈥�

Meanwhile, rival consultant Currie & Brown suffered a blow after the head of its 黑洞社区 Schools for the Future (BSF) division was poached by contractor Vinci Construction.

Pip Hesketh, who is currently serving out her notice period, is credited with bringing in large contracts for Currie & Brown, including Halton council鈥檚 拢100m BSF scheme and Nottinghamshire council鈥檚 拢150m programme.

The news will not be welcomed by Currie & Brown, which has been relying on schools work to help it through the recession. Hesketh said her departure was a private business matter.

She said: 鈥淢y decision to join Vinci is a positive one, but it is between myself and Vinci.鈥�

In February, Currie & Brown announced an 8% pay cut.