500 jobs to go at Aecom

6 August 2020


In a sweeping restructuring of its business, infrastructure services provider Aecom is to make up to 500 employees redundant in the UK and Ireland. All areas of the business, including engineer roles are likely to be affected, with the process starting in October and continuing through to January 2021.

The past few months have seen the coronavirus pandemic heavily impact Aecom activities. The firm, which generated around US$20.2bn of global income during 2019, has seen 2020 Q3 revenue drop by 10% in the EMEA and Asia-Pacific arenas. 

But Covid-19 may not be solely responsible for the restructuring. According to a recent report in New Civil Engineer (NCE), Aecom insiders have revealed that the restructuring is also down to the outsourcing of services to countries such as Romania, where salaries can be up to two-thirds less than in the UK.

The firm’s plans were made known some weeks ago, shortly after Colin Wood assumed the position of CEO, and staff were told that some offices would be closing. Employees – some with up to 15 years’ service with the company – were said to be in a state of shock on hearing the news; some have already entered into redundancy consultations. One told NCE that Covid-19 and the cancellation of projects were given as the cause of the redundancies. 

The job losses come in the wake of similar recent announcements at Arup (350 jobs) and Atkins (280). 

Aecom has worked on major tunnel projects globally, including New York’s Second Avenue Subway, the WestConnex New M4 tunnels, Sydney, and the Hong Kong West Drainage Tunnel.