Profits for Wolseley have slumped by 28% and the group has said hundreds of jobs and more branches will go.
In its pre-close trading update published on July 16, the heating and building materials supplier announced four hundred jobs will go in France and 43 branches will close.

In Canada, 50 jobs are to go.

Already 6,000 jobs globally have gone since August 2007 and 150 jobs in England during this period.

In Ireland, 150 jobs went and 13 branches were shut or consolidated. In the US, 75 branches have already been closed resulting in 200 job losses.

The group said ”In view of the current market conditions in the UK, cost reduction measures and efficiency improvements will continue'.

Wolseley has debts of £2.7bn largely due to buying up rivals in 2006 and 2007 and plans to axe this year's final dividend to save £150m.

The group announced trading conditions in most of the its markets have deteriorated since the interim management statement it published on May 21, 2008. In North America its trading profit was down by 46%.

Wolseley said the US housing and repairs, maintenance and improvement (‘RMI’) markets had 'softened further'.

It went on to say 'In Europe, there has been a rapid deterioration in market conditions in the UK, particularly with new housing, and many other European markets continue to soften'.

Chip Hornsby, group chief executive of Wolseley, said: “The deterioration in some of our key markets continues and it is likely that conditions will get tougher still. In these unprecedented circumstances, driving cost reduction, enhancing cash flow and closely managing the balance sheet, remain key priorities'.