Hundreds of workers at one of Shropshire’s biggest construction firms have been officially laid off.

Staff at Wrekin Construction were called to a meeting at the company’s head office in Shifnal at 4pm yesterday, when 412 workers were made redundant with immediate effect.

A core of 72 workers have been kept on to help release the assets of the firm. The news came hours after administrators Ernst & Young were officially appointed to the firm, and one day after the Royal Bank of Scotland called in receivers to the firm and refused to offer financial help, despite Wrekin Construction having secured £40 million in future contracts.

Administrators had spent the last day or two exploring whether it was viable to sell the business as a going concern but decided this was not possible.

The company employs hundreds of workers over its four sites, which also include offices in Wellingborough, Bradford and Runcorn.

The remaining employees were told they would keep their jobs for a short period of time while they help wind up the company.

A spokesman on behalf of Ernst & Young said: “The majority of the workforce were made redundant at 4pm yesterday. A small number of them have been retained to effectively wind up the business.

“I think over the last day or so the administrators would have looked at the business to see if it was viable as a going concern and obviously they have come to a decision to wind the business up.”

The spokesman said it was difficult to say how long the process to wind down the company would take.

The company, which was founded by Tom Frain in 1960, was bought two years ago by chairman David Unwin.

One employee, who declined to be named, said he was “mad” about being made redundant after 15 years’ service, adding that he is worried about finding a new job.

“I think it’s wrong” he said.