REDUNDANCIES could be made at one of Hereford’s most famous employers.

Painter Brothers, the steelwork fabricating firm based on Holmer Road, started a formal consultation with employees last week about a plan to reduce its workforce due to a reduction of demand in the overhead line market and an increase in competition.

The firm, which was founded in Hereford in the 1920s, has grown into one of the most modern and efficient structural steelwork fabricators in Europe.

The company currently operates within the Balfour Beatty Power Networks Division — an operating company within the Balfour Beatty PLC group of companies.

In a statement released, a Balfour Beatty spokesman said: “We remain committed to a sustainable Painter Brothers business and the first class service we offer our customers.

“Our proposal will align the size of our workforce to our current and forecasted order intake.

“There are 60 employees within our Painter Brothers business. As we are in formal consultation it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

According to its website, the firm specialises in the manufacture of galvanized steel towers for the electrical transmission and distribution industries.

It also manufactures masts and towers for radio, television, microwave and satellite communication.

In Hereford, the company has two modern galvanizing plants which combined can process more than 30,000 tonnes of structural steelwork each year.