70 redundancies at Austin-Smith Lord
Jennifer Dixon
Austin-Smith Lord has been forced to make 70 staff redundant and place a further 13 on notice because of late-paying clients and the suspension of a major Middle Eastern project.
The practice has been struggling to pay staff and suppliers for the past three months and was forced to make 40 London staff redundant on Tuesday night.
It has also laid off 30 staff in its Cardiff, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow offices because of delays to payments on UK projects.
BD understands the suspended project is the Abu Dhabi cultural quarter which Austin-Smith Lord won in July, its first major international commission.
All 13 staff in the Abu Dhabi office have been put on notice while delicate, government-level negotiations are conducted in an effort to release outstanding fees. If they were to lose their jobs the total redundancies would represent nearly half of the firm’s 180 staff.
Executive partner Neil Chapman said the difficulties were not with the client, which was keen to retain the staff.
“The client fully accepts its responsibility to pay amounts due,” said a statement from the practice, “however payment is being hampered by extraordinary events outside its immediate control.
“There have been, and continue to be, concerted and strenuous efforts underway at the highest diplomatic and political levels to speed payment of outstanding fees.”
Jennifer Dixon, a partner at the London office, said the redundancies were a matter of “deep regret”.
The practice’s last accounts, for the year ended 31 March 2010, showed a 34% increase in turnover from £12.2 million to £16.5 million.
Chapman said the practice had a “robust business in the UK” and was grateful to staff and suppliers for their support which was “instrumental in managing the business cash flow”.
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Readers' comments (14)
Not good, not good at all.
This is a huge shame for a company that produces some very good architecture and often work on very interesting projects, not always ground breaking but important none the less.
There was an opportunity here to ride the waves of recession successfully, but perhaps a little too much impetus on expansion during a tough period for construction left them exposed to unforeseen variants.
The management team of ASL, now have a responsibility to pay those who have been released any monies due and to try and rectify the situation for the dedicated staff who still turn up at the office doors.
The industry has struggled forward this year, we can only hope 2012 will see improvement and we will have to read less of these articles.
Such a disappointment practices are being forced to shed staff indicating the recession continues apace and we are given no certainty of recovery by the Government nor by the situation both in Europe and internationally. Challenging time indeed.
jane blakeley/jane faulkner architect riba, jersey
I'm sorry but when, exactly, is the RIBA going to say anything at all about this, instead of wringing it's hands? We now have 40% redundancy of architects. We should be outside the government's door in pop-up tents. At least that got the St Paul's protestors on the news.
sad news. this recession is a nasty one.
this is going to be a double deep recession ... unfortunatelly I need to say
Good grief, is this jounalism or reprinting a ASL press release? The company didn't just fire staff, it entered into voluntary administration!
we've never been out of the recession!! londoners....
that said, hit the wall in end of 2008, and only just been working full time for only 5 months. Its pretty hard out there if you don't have a job to get your foot in the door.
This is a tradgedy for all concerned not just the newly redundant staff and their families, but also the remaining staff at ASL and the wider profession. I believe it is time the RIBA recognised the challenges faced daily by architect members both in employment and those searching for work. What would be useful is constructive guidelines on how to deal with sudden redundancy and the debt crisis which can follow. As a former RIBA Councillor I campaigned for the RIBA to introduce guideance for students on how to address the limited employment opportunities, however sadly the idea was not taken up. I urge RIBA Council to address the ongoing crisis and make resources available to assist colleagues in their hour of need.
Chris Roche RIBA / Founder 11.04 Architects
The Annual Dinner of the Glasgow Institute of Architects held on Friday was notable for the absence of anyone from ASL and the amount of outrage expressed at Tuesday's redundancies and the way those who were made redundant have apparently been treated.
What what Neil Chapman apparently fails to mention in the BD article piece is that his "robust business plan" includes:
1. not paying redundancy pay,
2. not paying salary in lieu of notice,
3. not paying salary arrears
4. not paying 14 months worth of pension contributions,
5. not paying accrued holiday pay
If this is untrue or inaccurate - and for the sake of our profession, I hope it is - then I appeal to Mr Chapman to tell us otherwise.
Angus Kerr, Past President GIA.