A Midland company that manages billions of litres of diesel for some of Europe's largest freight fleets has rejected claims that increasing fuel prices will result in job losses across the region.
Fuel management specialists Keyfuels, Walsall, which manages the Keyfuels and Diesel Direct fuel cards was responding to predictions that fuel prices pushing the £1 per litre mark could result in widespread job cuts in the New Year.
It has been claimed that firms would find it difficult to pass on expense increases to their customers, but Jon Brooke-Langham head of product development at Keyfuels says that answers are closer to home.
He said: "We would argue that the threat of job losses is like taking a sledge hammer to crack a nut.
"This is because although the global price of oil is seldom out of the news, but it seems almost crude to talk fuel savings in UK boardrooms, despite the fact spending on fuel for commercial fleets accounts for between 30 and 40 per cent of operating costs."
He said by adopting a strategic approach to the management of fuel businesses can reduce their overall spend and increasing their margins by up to five per cent.
