Amid political uncertainty about the future of Crossrail – would either Labour or the Tories delay or axe the project? – news of job cuts at the group may not be the most positive sign.
This morning I heard about redundancies across the piste at Crossrail in recent days. A spokesman has now confirmed that Rob Holden, chief executive, has asked all team leaders to examine the potential for job cuts. “Directors are being asked to look at their teams going forward…to continue to offer value for money,” he said.
Only a handful of redundancies have already taken place, he said. But the prospect of 100 or more by the end of the process could not be ruled out. Crossrail has a core team of 450 but employs about 2,000 people in total.
The spokesman denied that the new drive was anything to do with a budget squeeze or political wrangling. Instead, it was about delivering value for money as Crossrail shifted from its planning phase to its delivery phase.
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey