CONSTRUCTION group Aveng has cut its reliance on SA for future work drastically, a move that could have negative consequences for employment already at record lows. Local building and engineering work would now contribute only 37% of Aveng’s pipelined projects for the next two years, SA’s largest construction company by revenue said on Tuesday after the release of its annual results. That compares to 56% in 2015. Australia and Southeast Asia would play an increasingly important role in the group’s strategy to return to profitability, Aveng said. The region now accounted for 60% of its two-year order book of R28bn, up from 40% the previous year. In the past financial year, Aveng removed 8,500 workers from its payroll as part of a strategic initiative to contain costs and stop the haemorrhage of profit in the subdued domestic economy. Of the jobs lost, about 2,000 were permanent staff, and the rest were contractors, according to a person familiar with the circumstances, who could not ...
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