Rok redundancies near 400

A further 268 redundancies have been made at failed contractor Rok, bringing the total to 379.

Administrator Pricewaterhouse Coopers has confirmed that 268 redundancies have been announced in the company’s Scottish Plumbing Heating and Electrical (PHE) business today. This means all remaining workers in the division have lost their jobs, and comes on top of the 711 redundancies nationwide at the company yesterday, of which 69 were at the Scottish PHE division.

The job cuts came after a deal to sell the remainder of the Scottish PHE business fell through. Alan Brown, director of business recovery services at PwC in Scotland said: “When we announced yesterday’s redundancies in East Kilbride, we were in discussions with an interested buyer for the remainder of the PHE business in Scotland and remained hopeful that a deal could be concluded. Unfortunately last night, it became apparent that this would not come to fruition. As a result of this, and in the absence of any other interested parties, we have regrettably had to take the decision to make the remainder of the PHE workforce redundant.”

He added: “We understand the impact of this, particularly in the North East of Scotland, and will be working closely with the employees affected by this decision to ensure they receive the support they need during this difficult time and to assist with their claims for redundancy and other compensatory payments.”

The locations affected are: Dundee (74), Inverness (130), Elgin (28), Thurso (19), and Fort William (17).

Brown said PwC was continuing to negotiate over potential deals for the remainder of Rok’s contracts and business in Scotland.