Swedish engineering firm Trelleborg has decided to shut down one of its UK vehicle components plants, with a possible 150 redundancies.
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Trelleborg said that most of its West Thurrock plant’s production would be transferred to other plants in Europe by the end of 2007.
The plant, which employs approximately 170, manufactures polymer-based vehicle components, such as noise-absorbing products. Of the 150 jobs at risk, about 40 are salaried employees.
Trelleborg has opened talks with the employee consultative committee regarding the termination of operations from its West Thurrock plant in the UK, in a bid to find new employment within and outside the group.
The company said its closure was part of the strategic and operational action programme announced in November 2006. Trelleborg Automotive, which plans to retain a local sales office in West Thurrock, operates three production plants in the UK.
Trelleborg’s senior vice president of corporate communications Viktoria Bergman told just-auto: “The basis for the programme is both a strategic and operational review. A restructuring programme is necessary to restore the profitability within automotive, and we are taking action where needed.
“The reasons for moving from West Thurrock includes an increasingly competitive marketplace, poor profitability and high operational costs. We need to be competitive, and we are certain that this restructure will be of long term benefit to our customers. We plan to keep a local sales and technical office.”
It is estimated that the costs of the closure of the plant would amount to about SEK140m ($US19.87m) before tax, most of which will affect cash balances in 2007-2009, while the positive earnings effect is expected to amount to about SEK45m on an annual basis, with full impact due in 2008.
