Kongsberg Automotive is proposing the FTS Burton plant in the UK will be under consideration as one of six production facilities which could be closed and that operations at the site could potentially cease from April next year.
At KA’s Capital Markets Day in November 2016, Kongsberg Automotive outlined its plan for improving performance and substantially reducing costs. This plan included closing down six plants, mainly within the Powertarain and Chassis products segment in Europe.
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The Burton facility manufactures and supplies fuel and air suspension lines for JLR and Aston Martin. The plant has 52 operational employees, including agency workers. In 2016 it had revenues of EUR2.6m (US$3m).
While the Burton plant has been developed in the past 12 months for new production lines, key customers are driving the need to relocate this product range to their new facilities in Eastern Europe. The proposed plan for Burton is:
- The JLR equipment production would be moved to KA’s new facility in Brzesc, Poland
- The AML equipment would be moved to the KA Normanton facility in Leeds, UK
- The recently awarded L663 business would be launched out of the new Brzesc facility
There are 52 employees working for KA FTS at the KA Burton facility who could be affected by the proposed plans.
A period of consultation will begin, collectively and individually, with all employees in the weeks to come.
