Shares of the company, which lost more than 90% of their value in 2019, plunged to a decade low of 43 pence on Thursday.

Like other recruiters, Staffline has been struggling with tough hiring conditions in Britain, where uncertainty over the country's departure from the European Union has deterred companies from hiring and employees from switching jobs.

It has over 350 sites in Britain and Ireland and hires for some major supermarkets and retailers.

Late last month, the company said that higher costs associated with its balance sheet review prompted it to warn of even lower profits than previously forecast. It was the fourth warning it issued over the last year.

An internal review found in December that the recruiter overstated 2018 profits by about 4 million pounds. PricewaterhouseCoopers, which audited its 2018 accounts, resigned in August.

Pullen is the latest top level manager to leave the firm. Finance head Mike Watts quit in December and chairman John Crabtree stepped down in June.

The company's stock, which is set to lose another one half of its value this year, fell 7.5% to 43 pence as of 0935 GMT.

Pullen has been with the company for five years. Before taking the top job in January 2018, he was the finance chief for almost two years and led mergers and acquisitions before that.

He will continue to carry out his duties during his notice period while the company finds a new CEO, Staffline said in a statement.

The company, which has already scrapped its dividend for 2020, said it expects net debt at the end of 2019 to be 60 million pounds.

On Thursday, it affirmed its expectations that adjusted operating profit will be materially below the 10 million pounds to 12 million pounds range it provided in December.

In June, it swung to a 2018 loss after booking a 15 million pound charge for potential fines for underpaying workers, following a probe by the British tax authority into whether it had historically complied with minimum wage regulations.

Fellow recruiter Hays on Thursday reported a fall in operating profit for the first half as it took a hit from a weak German economy.

By Yadarisa Shabong