Briggs to cut workforce

Briggs Equipment UK Ltd is reducing its workforce in order to ride out the harsh economic times.

Briggs began its staff reductions program in November 2008 to ensure the company remains in a strong position in the long term. The company has cut 100 jobs through early retirements, redundancies and reducing temporary worker numbers.

Forkliftaction.com News reported on a number of job cuts throughout the UK including at Briggs (Forkliftaction.com News #378) in early February. At that time, job cut numbers at Briggs were unconfirmed.

Richard Close, Briggs' CEO, says the company's primary purpose is to ensure its customers' businesses survive the economic uncertainty. "As a result, we must adjust our cost base to align with the needs and requirements of our customers.

"We are retaining a long-term focus for the business and are investing in key areas such as training, marketing and customer relationship management (CRM). Ultimately, we are making changes that will increase our responsiveness and efficiency to ensure that we continue to add value to our customers," he explains.