The company issued a brief statement: 鈥淎 HR1 notice has been issued with regard to possible redundancies. This does potentially affect all employees. The company is actively taking advice and exploring a range of options.鈥�.
The Darlington-based contractor has helped to build some of the world鈥檚 most complex steel structures, including the Burj Al Arab, the Wembley Stadium Arch, Canary Wharf Towers and the Thames Flood Barrier is in trouble.
Since 2000 it has been owned by the Saudi Arabian Al Rushaid Group.
Latest accounts, for 2019, show a pre-tax loss of 拢157,000 on turnover of 拢48m, compared to a 拢1m profit on 拢37m turnover in 2018.
The directors鈥� statement, signed on 22nd December 2020, said that it had made use of government Covid-19 support schemes and deferred tax liabilities to manage cashflow. 鈥淥ther than a short delay to ongoing projects in Sri Lanka whilst the country was in lockdown, all ongoing projects have continued as usual,鈥� it said.
In a joint statement, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, Sedgefield MP Paul Howell and Darlington MP Peter Gibson said: 鈥淥ur number one priority right now is making sure that Cleveland Bridge鈥檚 200 members of staff, and their families, are supported at this difficult and uncertain time, and we will be working with Darlington council and Government to ensure they get whatever support they need.
鈥淐leveland Bridge is a business with an amazing heritage that has been responsible for some of the world鈥檚 most iconic structures, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Shard skyscraper in London. The skills of its workers are second to none and have led to the company having an enviable global reputation.
鈥淭he company has a full order book for the next 18 months, this coupled with the firm鈥檚 history, expertise and highly skilled workforce makes us optimistic that a buyer will come forward quickly for this iconic business. But it is critical that local jobs are protected as part of any deal to buy Cleveland Bridge.鈥�
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