Walton Construction closes St. Louis, Dallas offices

Kansas City-based Walton Construction Co. LLC has closed its offices in St. Louis and Dallas, according to a report Wednesday from the Kansas City Business Journal, laying off 70 of its 550 employees companywide.

Walton now has offices in Springfield, Kansas City and New Orleans.

The office closures come just months after the announcement of a companywide restructuring effort that moved the Springfield office under the direction of the newly created western region, which also included the Dallas office.

The closures do not mean that the company has filed for bankruptcy, despite rumors to the contrary, Chief Operating Officer Dennis Thompson said in the Kansas City Business Journal report. Thompson was promoted to the newly created COO position in January as part of the restructuring, which consolidated management that had been spread among five division offices.

David Atkisson, vice president of operations and head of the Springfield office, said the closure did not affect the company's Springfield operation. He told SBJ in December that Walton cut its project management and field supervision personnel by roughly 50 percent in the second half of 2009. Full-time employee numbers in Springfield dropped to 29 as of November from 52 a year earlier, according to SBJ list research.

Companywide Walton revenues fell from $700 million in 2008 to $435 million in 2009, Thompson told the Kansas City paper. Thompson also said that companywide backlog is roughly $500 million, down 15 percent from last year; he noted that on average, industry backlogs are down 30 percent to 35 percent.