Tarmac has announced that following the agreement of a joint venture with French cement company Lafarge, the new headquarters for the joint venture will be at Solihull, not the current Tarmac HQ at Ettingshall, Wolverhampton.

This will mean the transfer of Tarmac’s HQ and shared services functions from Ettingshall to Solihull over the next 12 to 18 months. Currently, Tarmac employs around 500 people on the Ettingshall site. Local MPs were informed of the decision in a letter from Tarmac Chief Executive on the afternoon of 30th October.

Pat McFadden, MP for Wolverhampton South East, the constituency covering the current Tarmac Ettingshall Headquarters said:

“This is a bitter blow for the local area and the local economy. Tarmac has a very long history in Wolverhampton and we are losing not only much needed jobs but a company with iconic significance for the city. I have spoken to the Chief Executive today and expressed my disappointment with the decision. What we need desperately in Wolverhampton is more jobs and more businesses coming here, not companies like Tarmac leaving the area.”