The boss of boiler installer Swale Heating said he “hated” telling staff they are at risk of redundancy but said the firm has no more plans to cut jobs.

Managing director David Mathieson, who has been in post for 18 months, said he does not expect the company to make financial losses this year and is in a “good position”.

It comes after the firm confirmed about 30 office staff at its Sittingbourne headquarters will lose their jobs, with 136 workers told they are at risk under the redundancy consultation.

Its latest accounts show it made an operating loss of £896,000 in the year to the end of March 2016, compared to an operating profit of £352,000 in 2015.

Mr Mathieson said the redundancies had come after investment in IT systems improved the way it manages its engineering staff.

The firm reduced its headcount to about 425 people last year, down from about 470 the year before. Mr Mathieson said this had been done through natural churn and without the need for compulsory redundancies.

He said: “Absolutely the intention is that this is a one-off restructure that is about getting our business in the right size and shape for the long term.”

The company, which has no debt or overdraft and £5.2 million of net assets, is not expected to make another operating loss this year, he added.

“The operational efficiencies have not started to make a difference,” he said. “It won’t be a fantastically profitable year but I’m not expecting a significantly loss making year either.”

Mr Mathieson said voluntary redundancies would be used where possible.

He said: “I hate having to put people’s jobs at risk. However, the business has to evolve and change to suit the competitive market we work in and the impact of new technology.

“Therefore, I’ve got no option but to look at how we shape the business to suit the world we are in and the workload we have over the forthcoming months.”