A RECESSION-HIT business will work twice as hard as it battles to keep staff in a job.

GTF Construction has slashed its prices by 50 per cent in a bid to fill its order book.

The firm, which lays and resurfaces driveways, has reported a shortfall in the number of residents wanting work done.

So GTF, which has laid and resurfaced thousands of driveways across North Staffordshire, has cut its prices in the hope that its three employees will not have to be laid off.

Company owner George Finney said: "I would rather us work twice as hard than be out of work altogether."

The 38-year-old's father, also called George, set the firm up in Dilhorne 40 years ago.

The business now concentrates on domestic driveways, but trade dropped as the recession bit and customers were forced to tighten their belts.

Mr Finney, who has thousands of photographs showing completed jobs, said: "It is always a bit quiet after Christmas, but by now it should be picking up so we've got a good two or three months of work in advance. That's simply not happened this year, so we've taken action."

Mr Finney lives in Telford, Shropshire, although the firm retains a depot in Hilderstone and a lot of work still comes from North Staffordshire.

He said: "We've done thousands of drives over the years, with at least 30 in the Westbury Park area.

"There was this one case where my father dug out the first driveway, and I was called out to resurface it 20 years later."

Mr Finney said the average driveway resurfacing would cost £1,500 before discount, but the variable nature of each job made it difficult to generalise.

Worker Stephen Jones, from Market Drayton, has been employed by the company for most of his career.

The 34-year-old said: "I've never known it to be so quiet, but it's better to be out there earning money than being sat at home waiting for things to pick up.

"We've found that people don't want to spend money on their drives at the moment."

Rob Brookes, of R&L Paving in Weston Coyney, said his business had not been affected by the downturn and he currently has six weeks of work ahead of him.

But Mr Brookes, who employs three staff, said: "There are some mates of mine who have been all right, because they've been doing work for councils, but there are others who have struggled a bit because the traditional couples are cutting back on what they spend.

"One of the things I've concentrated on is those at retirement age, although I only work on recommendation. They've been able to afford a new paved drive when the 30-something will put a new drive off for 12 months."

Last month, road and concrete group Tarmac said it had shed 1,200 jobs in 2009 amid falling demand for its products.

Tarmac's owner, Anglo American, now plans to sell the business as part of a group restructuring.