Construction giant tells DOZENS of staff they will be sacked via Microsoft Teams – as the building company confirms major ‘restructure’
- Metricon announced it would reduce its NSW sales staff down to 18 employees
- Redundancy payments and redeployment was not offered to 15 trainee staff
- In a statement read out to staff, Metricon said its decision was not made ‘lightly’
Building giant Metricon has fired dozens of its sales staff via an online video chat as the company confirms it is in the middle of a restructure and will shed jobs.
In a Microsoft Teams video chat on Monday, Metricon told its staff it would cut its NSW sales team, which is roughly 60 employees, down to 18 and would let go 15 trainee sales consultants.
Staff unable to be redeployed were offered redundancy payouts while trainee staff were terminated without job offers elsewhere in the company or severance payments.
In a Microsoft Teams video call, Metricon announced it would cut its NSW sales team, which is roughly 60 employees, down to 18 and would terminate 15 trainee sales consultants
Metricon’s NSW state sales manager David Shorten reportedly read out a statement to staff which explained the decision was ‘not undertaken lightly’ but was made for the company’s short and long term goals.
‘To better accommodate and reflect the requirements of the current market and ensure the most appropriate deployment of resources, we have undertaken an important review of the sales team,’ Mr Shorten read, according to news.com.au.
‘This is necessary to ensure we remain competitive in both the short and long term. The review was not undertaken lightly and has resulted in proposed changes to the current structure of the team.
‘We understand that you may feel anxious at this time and that you are likely to have a number of questions. Under the proposed structure, the number of new home advisors will be reduced to 18.’
Employees have until 12pm on Wednesday to offer their ‘thoughts, insights or feedback’ regarding the restructure while terminated employees will be informed by the end of the week.
The construction giant said it will select the most ‘appropriately skilled individuals’ for the limited remaining roles at the company.
Those who turn down an opportunity to remain with the company may not be entitled to redundancy payments.
A statement letter (pictured) was read out to employees explained the company’s staff restructure
It comes as construction companies in Australia are unable to meet fixed price contracts as they face mounting financial challenges caused by supply chain issues, labor shortages and the soaring costs of raw materials.
‘With the current headwinds buffeting the industry, specifically labor costs due to competition for skills, combined with present global material cost hikes and with our very strong existing pipeline of work,’ Metricon’s Acting CEO Peter Langfelder said in a statement given to Daily Mail Australia .
‘We need to carefully balance the pipeline of new builds with the construction side of the business.
‘We are working to restructure our front-end of the business given the current climate and the need to move forward efficiently.
‘We are committed to looking after any of our people who may be impacted by these proposed changes, and they will continue to have ongoing access to the company’s support and mental health services.’
Metricon’s financial stability was under intense scrutiny earlier this year before its lender, Commonwealth Bank, agreed to a rescue deal in May.
Metricon held crisis talks amid cashflow pressures after its founder, Mario Biasin, 71, (pictured) suddenly died on May 16
Mr Langfelder said the company’s owners would also give $30million to help the business.
In early May sales staff were reportedly told to increase cash flow by securing more deposits.
Metricon held crisis talks amid cashflow pressures in the building industry after its founder, Mario Biasin died on May 16.
The company confirmed the ‘sudden and unexpected’ death of Mr Biasin and added the 71-year-old had been ‘experiencing mental health issues’.
Last month, Metricon listed at least 56 display properties worth almost $65million for sale despite reports the company was struggling financially.
The sales include homes in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland ranging from $650,000 to $3.2million.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Metricon for comment.
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