Another round of downsizing has resulted in the layoff of eleven employees from SAL Trading Limited due to a drop in trading in Bermuda’s struggling economy.Company CEO Bill Morrison said in a statement yesterday: “SAL regrettably had to inform a number of our employees that the effect from the large downturn in trading throughout all departments of the company, in the difficult economic times of today, has resulted in a necessary decision to downsize the company.”Mr Morrison added: “The company also advised everyone on the layoff list that their health coverage will be continued throughout the layoff period.”“This difficult decision follows other cost cutting measures, previously implemented, that alone proved insufficient to offset the decline in business.”The workers let go were employed in various sections of the company from administrative staff to ready-mix employees. One trucker was laid off amid concerns that he is the first of more to come.One employee who asked not to be named said: “We know more layoffs are pending, if it were not for the new hospital job we would hardly have any concrete to pour Island-wide.“And that job site is nearly up to the roof which means they won’t be needing concrete poured at that site much longer,” he said.Meanwhile, the company responsible for the new hospital building site believes there is enough work to sustain that company for the next 18 months.CEO and Vice President of BCM McAlpine Limited, Michael Ewles said: “We at BCM McAlpine are fortunate to have the KEMH Redevelopment Project to sustain us for the next 18 months, but we have very little else on our books.“As we reach completion on the hospital, we are hopeful that one or two of the larger proposed hotel developments will proceed. Large-scale projects such as these, like the hospital, can have a very positive impact on our workload and the industry in general.”Commenting on the overall picture for the construction industry in Bermuda moving forward, Mr Ewles said that a “steady flow of small to medium sized commercial jobs” is needed to “keep people working on a consistent basis”.But he said: “There is very little out there right now. For work to reach the contractors, the architects need to be busy as they go through design development and the planning permission process.“It typically takes about nine months to a year for the architects to get projects ready for construction, so once the architects are busy, any meaningful increase in construction activity is at least nine months to a year away. Of major concern to us is the fact that the architects are not busy.”This newspaper reported earlier this month that Bierman’s laid off 40 percent of their staff within the past two months due to the ailing economy.Meanwhile, staff at SAL, while grateful that the employees laid off will at least get to keep health insurance benefits, firmly believe more lay offs are to come.