Plumb Center has announced a proposal to close its distribution centre in Warwickshire, which could put 170 jobs at risk.

The proposal to restructure Wolseley, which is part of the multinational group Ferguson, was sent out in September 2016, and could see 80 branches close (details have yet to be announced), with around 800 jobs potentially lost.

Reports from Wolseley say that the Royal Leamington Spa site closure is planned to happen within the next 18 months. Thirty-eight branches have already been closed by Wolseley, causing around 200 redundancies.

Wolseley have released this statment: 

"We originally announced a comprehensive transformation plan to improve our customer propositions and the efficiency of our business in September 2016.

"The plan set out a programme of investment in the business whilst simplifying our branch network and logistics facilities to improve our service to customers and lower our costs. Our restructuring proposals included the closure of 80 branches and one distribution centre resulting in 800 redundancies over 2-3 years across the UK. To date, we have closed 38 branches with 200 redundancies.

"After completing more detailed analysis our expectations of the total UK headcount reductions remain broadly the same. We have briefed employees on an update to our transformation programme:

  • A proposal to close a further 18 branches taking the total to 98.
  • Closure of our distribution centre in Leamington Spa within the next 18 months with 170 roles put at risk of redundancy.
  • Additionally, we propose 100 fewer administration and support roles in our UK headquarters in Leamington Spa. The remaining 342 employees will be relocated to a new local site.
  • Other proposed reorganisation actions total 120 roles.

"These proposed redundancies are subject to employee consultation and we have commenced discussions with our employees."