HUNDREDS of jobs in Worcester are facing the axe with a major business set to close its distribution centre in the city.

Wolseley, a distributor of plumbing and heating products, currently employs 200 people at its distribution centre in Wainwright Road, near the Shire Business Park.

But the firm is looking at downsizing, after seeing a 'sharp slowdown in growth', and is now considering closing its Worcester centre, one of four it currently operates in the UK.

A consultation on the closure is set to be launched shortly and staff at the distribution centre say they were told on Tuesday that it will shut in 2018.

A woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Worcester News that her husband works in the warehouse at the city distribution centre and has been left "devastated" by the news.

She said: "Hundreds of jobs are being put at risk. We are devastated as you can imagine. He [my husband] has been in the warehouse a long time and so have a lot of other people.

"Livelihoods are being put at risk. After all the loyalty the guys have given to the company."

Robin Walker, MP for Worcester, said: "In any situation where jobs are at risk, I will be doing all I can to support people who might be affected."

Wolseley says the shake-up, which will cost it £100 million, comes amid a challenging period in the UK, where it has seen a sharp slowdown in growth.

It says that in the UK, which accounts for eight per cent of its profits, the repair, maintenance and improvement markets have declined and growth is "weak", leading to a 'challenging' environment.

Wolseley said the restructuring, the result of a review, is expected to generate £25 million to £30 million of annual cost savings when complete.

A spokesman for the company said: "The closure of around 80 branches and one distribution centre is expected to lead to up to 800 job losses, the impact of which we will minimise through redeployment and attrition as far as possible.

"The programme is subject to consultation which will commence shortly and is expected to take 90 days."

The group employs 6,000 people in the UK and operates across 750 branches across the country.

Patrick Headon, managing director of Wolseley UK, said: "We have an outstanding team made up of hard working and dedicated people across the UK and we are very conscious of the impact this transformation of the business will have on some of them.

"We are therefore committed to carrying out this programme as sensitively as possible, using voluntary means to achieve the proposed headcount reductions wherever possible.

"Over time I’m confident our proposals will benefit both our colleagues in the UK and the customers they serve every day.”