Refurbishment of Royal Festival Hall will cause job losses

A
multi-million pound refurbishment of one of the country’s best known concert
halls will lead to 181 job losses.

The
Royal Festival Hall, part of London’s
South Bank Centre, is to close from July 2005 until January 2007 for £71m worth
of improvements.

Consultations
have started with unions over the redundancies, with volunteers being sought to
avoid compulsory lay-offs. Terms and conditions for the staff who remain are being improved.

The
Amicus union said it was working with the company to keep job losses to a
minimum.

The
hall, which opened in 1951, is a Grade I listed building situated alongside the
banks of the River Thames.

By Mike Berry