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[July 2007]
Ceramaspeed Prepares to Move Some UK Production to Poland
Ceramaspeed Ltd (Kidderminster, Worcs, England) has announced proposals affecting its assembly operations at the Kidderminster factory. The company has commenced consultation with employees in relation to a proposal to transfer manufacturing to Poland. Under these proposals 240 jobs would be put at risk. In the meantime, said the company, business operations will continue as normal.
Ceramaspeed stated that whilst under these proposals production in Kidderminster could reduce, some specialist production operations will be unaffected. It will also continue to maintain its Global Head Office together with Research & Development and Engineering at its Kidderminster location. This will secure the jobs of 100 employees.
Kevin Roberts, Managing Director, commented: “We have a difficult decision to make in order to secure the viability of the company. We have to improve the Company's cost structure and increase efficiency to protect our market share if we are to survive in a highly competitive environment. It is a fact that our labour costs and overheads in Kidderminster are higher than that of our competitors who supply from factories in Eastern Europe”.
Mr Roberts advised that the announcement formed the start of a consultation process with employee representatives. Should redundancies be necessary, the company has committed to provide a comprehensive support package for staff that are affected including outplacement services, to help as many employees as possible, in order to find alternative employment in the local area.
Mr Roberts continued: “We are acutely aware of the impact this will cause for our employees and their families. We'll work through these challenging times with compassion. Under the proposals there will be no impact on employees until the beginning of 2008. We are committed to providing as much support as possible to our employees and to provide constant communications to keep everyone informed of developments”.
www.ceramaspeed.com
ENDS