john.downing@cambridge-news.co.uk
MORE than 350 jobs will be axed at an engineering plant which produces parts for the car industry.
Shocked employees at ThyssenKrupp Tallent in Bourn heard the company’s UK managing director Brian Francis break the news yesterday that production will end there by September.
The 313 full-time employees and around 50 temporary staff will lose their jobs when production switches to other UK plants throughout the rest of the year.
One employee, who asked not to be named, said the mood yesterday was sombre.
He said: “We had a meeting and were told the board of directors had decided to close the plant.
“People feel very let down. We have worked our socks off. We have not done anything wrong. We are their top-performing plant in Europe.
“They said there will not be any redundancies for three months, then there will be a controlled shutdown.
“I’m a family man and this is going to hit me hard. I have to find another job and it’s going to be difficult. I have given 100 per cent to that company and I did my job with a lot of pride”.
Another worker told the News: “I’m in my mid-50s. What job am I going to get at my age?
“We were one of the most efficient teams in the whole group. We all hope for a change of heart but I don’t think that is going to happen”.
The company makes chassis structural and suspension products, modules and systems for the automotive industry. Its clients include BMW, Ford, General Motors, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche and Volkswagen.
Sue Boulton, group HR manager, said: “It is with great regret the workforce of ThyssenKrupp Tallent’s Bourn plant were briefed on the decision to close the site and relocate production to alternative UK sites.
“ThyssenKrupp Tallent has six production plants in the UK. Despite the recent improvements in volume in the automotive industry, it is still faced with significant over-capacity across its plants and has concluded that the right strategic option to improve the long-term viability of the group is to close the Bourn plant.
“Employees were informed of the potential closure in September.
“Constructive consultations with union representatives have been taking place since then, including consideration of provision of alternative work”.
She said there would be opportunities for staff to transfer to some other UK sites.
They are in Cannock, Staffordshire; Newton Aycliffe, Durham; Llanelli, south Wales; Fareham, Hampshire; and a small unit in the Nissan plant at Washington, Tyne and Wear.
Staff levels in Bourn had already fallen from about 375 full-time and 100 temporary staff about 18 months ago.
The news comes in the same week Cambridgeshire County Council announced its intention to axe about 300 jobs in a bid to cope with a looming cash crisis.
Cambridge News
