One of the UK's biggest housebuilders is expected to announce hundreds of job cuts and provide a further insight into the woes in the industry.
York-based Persimmon, which trades as Charles Church, Persimmon Homes and Westbury Partnerships, is likely to announce around 1,000 redundancies as bosses wrestle with plunging sales and deteriorating market confidence.
The conditions may prompt it to announce a write-down in the value of its land holdings and a cut to its dividend in an effort to conserve cash.
In the group's last update in April, Persimmon said it had seen a 24% drop in revenues so far in the year, adding that it was putting new projects on hold.
Estimates in the City suggest that sales volumes could have now slumped by 50%, compared to the 18% dip seen in April.
The group's job losses will follow nearly 2,000 job cuts announced last week by rival firms Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments.
Housebuilders have been hit hard by the credit crunch as the mortgage drought has meant homebuyers have been unable to secure the finance they need, while property price falls have put people off buying a home.
The pessimism surrounding the industry has seen housebuilders' share prices tumble to fractions of their worth a year ago.
Persimmon lost its place in the FTSE 100 Index last month after its share price plummeted. The firm's stock is worth around a fifth of its value a year ago.
The firm employs around 5,000 people and operates from 34 offices across the UK. It sold a total of 15,905 properties during 2007.
