Telford Homes to cut up to a third of staff

LONDON (Reuters) - Residential property developer Telford Homes will slash up to 50 jobs to cut costs as the economic downturn and falling house prices bite, its Chief Executive said on Tuesday.

"Over the next year we expect to cut staff by between a quarter and a third. We will be smaller over the next year in terms of our level of activity and it will take time to return to where it has been in the past," Chief Executive Andrew Wiseman told Reuters in an interview.

Telford Homes has 160 employees.

However, the company, which specialises in regeneration projects and affordable homes in East London, expects demand to pick up as the government bids to meet targets for new housing in London.

"There will be around 40,000 build-starts for new homes this year but the UK government's target is for some 240,000 a year. So short term it's a deteriorating situation but long term there is a structural imbalance between supply of homes and demand, which will have to be addressed," said Wiseman.

(Reporting by Rhys Jones; editing by John Stonestreet)