The axe is set to fall on a major DIY firm in Kent.

Plumb Center and Build Center’s 18 branches across the county are facing huge potential redundancies.

Materials company Wolseley, which owns the firms, has announced it will cut around 2,000 jobs in the UK and close 200 UK branches.

The news comes as it announces profits have dropped by 77 per cent following a slowdown in the house-building sector.

It has not yet been announced which branches will be axed or how many jobs will go in Kent.

It is expected the cuts will save the company £103 million a year. More than 5,000 jobs have already been made redundant by Wolseley since August.

Wolseley Chief Executive Chip Hornsby said: “We continue to react swiftly to market conditions with aggressive but measured cost reduction.

“In these unprecedented circumstances the key priorities remain driving cost reduction and enhancing cash flow.”

Meanwhile Citigroup has announced plans to add 53,000 job cuts to the 23,000 already announced this year.

With London and New York expected to be the worst affected, it is feared many Kent workers will be caught up in the redundancies.

A Citigroup spokesman said: “This is a global figure and there has been no decision yet on how this will affect jobs in the UK.

“Like all businesses Citigroup must cut costs to meet business needs, but to speculate on who will lose their job in the UK would be wrong at this time.”

The reduction will affect 20 per cent of its workforce leaving the company with 300,000 staff worldwide.