Bovis, Redrow slashing staff by 40 pct

LONDON -- U.K. homebuilders Bovis Homes Group PLC and Redrow PLC each said Wednesday they were slashing staff by 40 percent - more signs of the distress in Britain's dismal and deteriorating housing market. Bovis reported that sales in the first half of the year were down 32 percent, and said it was cutting its dividend by 75 percent, while Redrow reported a 19 percent drop in sales and said it was rethinking its dividend policy. The planned layoffs amount to 540 employees at Redrow and 400 at Bovis. One homebuilder after another has reported a sales slump as falling house prices, sagging consumer confidence and a restrictive mortgage market have bitten into demand. Persimmon PLC, the second-biggest U.K. home builder, said Tuesday that its first-half sales were down 31 percent, and that it was cutting its staff by about a... [read full story]