Spokeswoman at housebuilder estimates that several hundred will leave but says no offices will be closed

Yorkshire-based housebuilder Persimmon is to make 鈥渟everal hundred鈥� staff redundant as the credit crunch continues to bite.

A spokeswoman said a month-long consultation process with staff had started in each of Persimmon鈥檚 regional businesses which was designed to find ways of reducing head count. However, the builder, which employs 5,500 people across the country, denied a report it has already decided to cut 3% of staff.

The spokeswoman said at a 鈥渧ery vague estimate鈥� several hundred staff would leave, but no decision as to the final number of losses had been made. No offices would be closed, she said.

The news follows job cuts at Taylor Wimpey, Crest Nicholson and Bellway among others in recent week as housebuilders have borne the brunt of more restrictive mortgage lending by banks.

The firm denied a further rumour that all staff at the company had been put on 30-day notice period, in order to ready the firm if further cuts were required in the future. The spokeswoman said: 鈥淭here has been no change to the notice periods.鈥�

Persimmon said it April that it would not start work on any new sites until the housing market improved. Shares in the firm fell 3% today to 467.25p.

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