WICKES owner and builders' merchant Travis Perkins is axing 600 jobs and closing more than 30 branches as it warns about "uncertain" trading.
Travis Perkins has outlets in Barrow, Millom and Ulverston - though Cumbria is not thought to be affected by the proposals.
The firm was founded as the Benjamin Ingram company in 1797 and in 2015 opened its 2,000th branch.
The group, which trades from over 20 businesses, including Travis Perkins, Wickes, BSS, Toolstation and Tile Giant, said it expected core earnings for 2016 to be "slightly below" the current market consensus of £415million.
Travis Perkins also highlighted uncertainty in the outlook for 2017 as it reported third quarter total sales growth of 3.4 percent and underlying growth of 2.0 percent.
Toolstation has opened a branch in Phoenix Road, Barrow, just earlier this month, creating seven jobs.
The Barrow store is the latest Toolstation to open and joins the 240 plus branches already open in the UK.
Travis Perkins said Wickes and Toolstation are not affected by the proposed job cuts.
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