HUNDREDS of Safestyle employees have been left devastated after being called into the company's Bradford headquarters this afternoon to be told of huge redundancies.

Administrators for Safestyle have said the business has made around 680 of its workers redundant after it fell into administration.

Interpath Advisory said around 70 of the door and window maker’s 750 employees would be kept on in the short term to help wind down the business.

It comes after Safestyle said on Friday it intended to appoint administrators after failing to find a buyer.

The Bradford-headquartered business has a manufacturing site in Wombwell, near Barnsley and 42 branches and depots across the country.

At about 1pm, staff were called into the company's headquarters on Eldon Place and there were emotional scenes as employees emerged from the meeting. Some staff were crying and could be seen consoling each other.

The company failed after facing a series of pressures, including runaway inflation and poor consumer confidence, administrators said.

The unseasonably warm weather in September also dented demand for its products.

Rick Harrison, managing director at Interpath Advisory, said: “These are really challenging times for companies across the home improvement market.

“After seeing strong sales during the Covid lockdown periods, many companies are seeing trading being impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and soaring costs.”

He added: “Unfortunately for Safestyle, and despite the tireless efforts of the management team over recent months, these challenges have proven too difficult to overcome.

“This will be particularly devastating for the company’s employees, as well as the many self-employed contractors who worked on behalf of the company.

“Our immediate priority will be to provide support to those impacted by redundancy, including supporting them in making claims to the Redundancy Payments Service where relevant.”

An employee told the T&A: " I've been here nearly 14 years and we stayed loyal to the company and now we've lost our jobs. 

"We've got families to feed, mortgages and bills to pay and now we're not being paid."

Other employees highlighted the impact it had on their mental health claiming they hadn't slept since they heard the news.

One said: "My mental health is bad, I haven't slept. 

"I have a family, I'm the sole provider, all I know is this and it's not like I'm going to get another job like this tomorrow."

Employees questioned the decisions of the company that led to this situation, leaving them without jobs.

A frustrated employee, said: "This is absolutely ridiculous."

Administrators said customer orders that have not been delivered will not now be fulfilled.

They are still searching for buyers for some parts of the business, and customers may be entitled to have their orders completed by any potential new owner.

Even if the company was part-way through an installation it will not complete these orders and customers will need to find an alternative installer, they said.

Customers will not be charged for any remaining balance on their orders.

If customers have paid a deposit ahead of an installation, they should try to get that money back through their credit or debit card provider. If they paid in cash they will not get the money back and will have to register as a creditor of Safestyle.