Longhope, Gloucestershire haulier Harold Read Transport has made 12 staff redundant as it struggles to find work in the scrap metal market. The company will also take nine of its 12 trucks off the road and will consider whether to sell them in the coming months.
Partner Adrian Read says the company now has three staff and will run a skeleton business in the hope of weathering the current financial downturn. "The biggest problem is the downturn on scrap metal, but other things like the cost of diesel, late payments and bad debtors have added to the problems."