A decline in home construction prompted a major construction supplier to slash thousands of jobs in recent months, its chief executive said this week.
Builders FirstSource CEO Dave Flitman told analysts on the company’s third-quarter earnings call that about 2,600 jobs were eliminated across the U.S. amid the slowdown, the Dallas Morning News reports.
High home prices and rising mortgage rates have led to fewer people buying homes; sales of existing homes have fallen for eight consecutive months through September.
Most of Builders FirstSource’s layoffs happened around the middle of the year, and most of the eliminated jobs were temporary positions, a company official told the paper.
Flitman told analysts that the company was forced to make “difficult decisions” in order to respond to the challenging environment. The supplier also cut overtime and halted travel deemed non-essential
“We are proactively managing into the downturn, and we are prepared to act decisively to protect and resize the business as necessary,” Flitman said.
He added that the cuts would not affect the company’s manufacturing capacity.
Despite the difficult year, Builders FirstSource nonetheless posted a 5% increase in sales in the third quarter and a 20% increase in profit.
