A COMPANY has confirmed up to 50 jobs will be lost following its £5.6 million takeover by engineering giant Alfred McAlpine.

Work at Ryan Utility Services, Inglewhite Road, Longridge, will cease tomorrow with many of its office jobs to be transferred to Kennedy's, a McAlpine-owned firm at Trafford Park, Manchester.

The majority of Ryan's 900 workers will be employed on contracts around the North West or at the Trafford depot, but around 50 of Ryan's administrative staff could face redundancy if alternative roles cannot be found for them.

John Reid, joint managing director at Kennedy's, said: "We have transferred a lot of staff to cover contracts throughout the North West and to our offices in Manchester, but we anticipate there could be up to 50 redundancies. Some have said they do not want to move, so we have been talking to staff to see if we can accommodate them elsewhere in the company."

He added: "One of the reasons is that there are now a number of duplicate roles that have become apparent as a result of Kennedy's and Ryans being merged, so where we can find people new jobs within the McAlpine group we will.

"As a result it would be very hard to try and resolve this with voluntary redundancies, but the final figure of job losses won't be known until a meeting in the New Year."

A daily bus service will be laid on between Longridge and Manchester to take staff to their new jobs.

One employee, who did not wish to be named, said the decision had saddened the whole of the workforce: "Ryan's was originally a family firm and that family atmosphere has continued. We had been expecting some redundancies with the takeover but thought Ryan's would continue here under the McAlpine flag."

Longridge mayor Coun David Moon said: "This is a blow for Longridge. Ryan's was one of the town's major employers."

The firm was put on the market by its owners Speedy Hire plc earlier this year.

The move represents another dip into the McAlpine war chest after the disposal of its homes division for £461 million in August and adds to the company's £52 million purchase of Kennedy Civil Engineering.

Alfred McAlpine executive director Ian Grice said: "Ryan and Kennedy make us strong from the Midlands to the north. This only leaves us needing to strengthen our presence in the south."

"Expected revenues in Ryan's current financial year are approximately £56 million, generated principally from long-term contracts with Transco and United Utilities.

"Ryan's estimated future workload is projected at £200 million, increasing McApline's total projected workload in the utilities sector to over £500 million."

The firm currently holds a major contract with Transco for the replacement, repair and maintenance of the gas distribution network in east and west Lancashire, the Fylde, Merseyside and south Cumbria.