HS2 Ltd, the private company overseeing the delivery of the high-speed railway line, is planning a sweeping round of job cuts and a major restructuring as the embattled project’s scope narrows following the cancellation of the northern leg. An internal presentation shared with City A.M.
shows that over 100 jobs are at risk in HS2 Ltd’s finance department, which includes the Land and Property unit, the segment responsible for compensating landowners impacted by the construction of HS2. But City A.M.
understands the total number of jobs at risk could be much higher as the major restructuring programme concerns the entire business. “Conversations with potentially impacted colleagues will have taken place before this briefing, recognising how unsettling the news will be,” the presentation reads. HS2 Ltd is an arms-length body of the Department for Transport (DfT) and is responsible for developing and promoting the scheme.
Employing around 2,000 people, it operates as a private company but is funded by public money. It is understood that the restructure will be completed by the start of October. It comes after former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made the controversial decision last October to axe HS2’s northern leg, which runs from Birmingham to Manchester, as costs ballooned well above initial estimates.
It prompted fury from all sides of the political spectrum, ranging from Northern leaders to former Prime Minister’s Boris Johnson and Theresa May . To appease the backl.