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Balfour Beatty shocked many in the industry last week by putting 12,000 staff on notice of redundancy across its construction services division as part of a wholesale restructure of the UK business. But the decision, while unsettling for employees, has received a nod of approval from the City. Under chief executive Ian Tyler, Balfour Beatty has grown overseas, diversified and acquired unique businesses in a bid to outmanoeuvre its competitors and become a force in global construction and infrastructure. This latest restructuring is a direct response to reduced UK public spending and a harsh competitive environment - but the underlying message is that it is about making cost savings to position the business for growth.

That鈥檚 not simply corporate lip service either: the City buys it. Tyler鈥檚 strategy is to continue to expand in burgeoning sectors such as oil, power, rail, transportation and mining and to find yet more opportunities in emerging economies where the bulk of its profits lie. While the business goes about making 拢50m worth of efficiencies over the next three years, it can reform to better target clients and fix any internal cultural difficulties and union-related headaches. The main challenge for its UK business will be to understand how to implement such a strategy - the nature of its communication, to clients, staff and the City alike, will be vital to its success. But : 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a global infrastructure business; they won鈥檛 be harmed by the loss of 1,000-2,000 jobs in the UK.鈥� So unless something dramatic happens, it is difficult to see how the Balfour Beatty tanker can go adrift.   
               

Tom Broughton, brand director