ThyssenKrupp Tallent, the owners of a car components plant in Llanelli that once employed over 1,000 workers, said that it could finally close with the loss of 100 jobs. It has told staff it is looking at moving work to its other UK sites.
It said that a final decision had yet to be made and it was unlikely any permanent employees would be made redundant before the summer. The company blamed a significant fall in orders due to the current recession.
It is not the first time the future of the plant in Felinfoel has been under threat. Three years ago the company held a 90 day consultation about closing it.
In a statement, group HR manager Ms Sue Boulton said that "It with great regret that the workforce of ThyssenKrupp Tallent's Llanelli plant were briefed on the possible closure of the site due to the significant fall in volume caused by the current recession. ThyssenKrupp Tallent has six plants in the UK all operating well below capacity with orders from customers down between 35% and 60%."
She added that "It has lost over a third of its employees in less than a year across all its sites and is now faced with rationalizing its facilities in order to improve its financial performance."
She said initial analysis suggested closing the plant and relocating the work to other UK sites would improve profitability. She added that "However, no final decision has been taken and further detailed investigation into the costs and savings from relocating production will now be undertaken."
Ms Boulton said that "Equally the company will also enter into consultation with union representatives regarding ways of reducing the cost base of the site to retain the business in Llanelli. Should a final decision to close the site be taken it is unlikely that any permanent employees would be made redundant before the summer and obviously it would take some time to fully close a site of this size."
