(Reuters) - UK recruiter Staffline (L:STAF) on Monday appointed Ian Lawson as its chairman and warned of weak demand for the year in its employment support and training division due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The appointment comes as Tracy Lewis, its non-executive chairman, resigned from the board on Friday, just seven months into the role.
Lawson, previously chief executive at engineering company Severfield (L:SFR), joins after acting as an independent board adviser to Staffline.
The company said demand from the food sector, including food processing, logistics and supermarkets, for its recruitment services has been strong to date.
"Despite food sector customers representing approximately 60% of Staffline's client base, this growth in demand is not currently large enough to offset the temporary shutdown of the majority of other clients in non-food sectors," the company said.
Staffline operates two business units - Staffline Recruitment and PeoplePlus.
Staffline Recruitment provides services such as supporting food production, logistics, manufacturing and automotive sectors, while PeoplePlus provides skills training and apprenticeship programmes. OLGBBUS Reuters UK Online Report Business News 20200427T073611+0000