Leading construction company Group Five recently announced that as part of its restructuring plan it had cut jobs and split its engineering and construction division which was running at a loss.

The company said its restructuring was supported by Deloitte Consulting.

The company said this process will be completed by the end of June and was being carried out in the form of voluntary and forced retrenchments.

According to Reuters, Group Five makes 81.2% of its group revenue from the engineering and construction division. The company said this division had now been split into Construction: South Africa, Construction: Rest of Africa and engineer, procure and construct.

“These changes are aimed at unlocking shareholder value and addressing mainly the loss-making Engineering & Construction cluster,” Group Five said in a statement. “These changes will result in more focused businesses with appropriate resources and cost bases relevant to the regions and service offerings provided.”

Group Five recorded its first six-month loss in 11 years in February due to a R255 million (US$19 million) settlement with the South African government.

The company operates in 12 countries in Africa and Europe. Based on its 2016 annual report, it indicated that it has 7,450 employees in Southern Africa and 1,145 throughout the rest of Africa.

The impact of the retrenchments will be included in the company’s results for the second half of 2017.