Almost 3,000 Carillion workers made redundant after collapse and liquidation

The last of Carillion’s 278 UK contracts has transferred to another company almost seven months after the construction giant went into liquidation.

Following months of job losses, a further nine staff members left their roles this week, bringing the total number of redundancies to 2,787 – 15% of the pre-liquidation workforce.

The company, which was the second-largest contractor in the country and ran major projects for public services including work on HS2 and maintenance for the NHS and Ministry of Defence, went into liquidation on 15 January.

The Insolvency Service helped transfer all of the firm’s contracts to other businesses, ensuring that services continued in hospitals, schools, road, rail and other infrastructure without major disruption.

“Carillion is the largest-ever trading liquidation in the UK,” said official receiver Dave Chapman. “During this period, 83% of the original workforce have either transferred with the contracts or resigned with another job to go to.”

The liquidation will now focus on limited transitional services and ensuring that suppliers are paid. About 240 employees remain to finish the remaining activities.

Chapman, who has wide-ranging powers to obtain information, material and explanations, added: “My investigation into the cause of the company’s failure, including the conduct of its directors, is also under way.”

The Insolvency Service did not publish a full list of the 278 contract transfers, but previous announcements included approximately 200 staff transferring to Kier with a contract for HS2 building work.