Hundreds more Carillion jobs saved as former directors face fresh fury

The jobs of a further 1,200 Carillion workers have been saved, the Official Receiver has said.

The announcement means more than 2,000 people have been saved from redundancy following the collapse of the construction and support services group last month.

However, the OR said it had been unable to save the jobs of 101 people working in a mix of back office functions and engineering support roles new suppliers did not need.

It means that so far, 930 people employed by the company have been made redundant.

“We have continued to review Carillion’s contracts, as well as core divisions of the business, and I can confirm that we have safeguarded a further 1,221 jobs,” said the OR in a statement.

“These roles are connected to the delivery of both public and private contracts and cover services for a city council, as well as a range of facilities management services. This means so far, we have been able to save more than 2,000 jobs.”

In fact, the figure is higher than this.

To date, 2,250 jobs have been saved and the figure is expected to grow.

“Continued support by Carillion’s public and private sector customers is enabling as many employees as possible to be retained in the interim until all contracts have been worked through,” said the OR.

Meanwhile, the chief executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce has added to the criticism of Carillion’s former directors.

Corin Crane said he supported the comments made by the co-chairs of the joint parliamentary Works and Pensions and Treasury committee, Frank Field and Rachel Reeves, when they branded the former board members delusional following their appearance before them.

The company’s interim chief executive, Keith Cochrane, admitted to the MPs that the collapse of the group had been “avoidable”, while former finance director Zafar Khan said lost contracts, last year’s snap General Election and the Brexit vote had all been factors for the company going into liquidation.

Former chief executive Richard Howson said problems collecting fees from a contract in the Middle East could account for a £200m black hole in finances, while a structural remodelling of the Royal Liverpool Hospital following its initial completion had also played a part.

Mr Crane said: “There was a distinct lack of ownership coming from (the) Carillion bosses regarding the company’s collapse, which is disappointing given the profound impact it has had upon businesses involved in their supply chain network.

“As a Chamber, we are operating a helpline to provide support and assistance to those who have been affected by the Carillion liquidation. Since this helpline launched, we have received incoming enquiries from a variety of businesses, many of whom were a part of Carillion’s supply chain and therefore directly affected by the company’s collapse.

“The overriding reason behind the calls relates to overdue payments and whether firms will actually receive money owed to them.”

He said the chamber was keen to gather as much information as possible relating to those affected by the collapse so support could be better directed.