Twenty-five jobs have been saved at a redundancy-hit car parts company near the Shropshire/Welsh border, it was revealed today.

Bosses at Llanfyllin car pressings factory Stadco had plan-ned to axe 106 jobs at their plant. But they said today that figure would be cut by 25 after new work was found by the firm.

Stadco is part of the Acertec car parts firm that supplies Peugeot, BMW and Land Rover.

A spokesman for the company said: “We can confirm that there is some good news at Llanfyllin because although the situation is still changeable, there will be less redundancies than first proposed.

“In December a consultation started on a total of 106 redundancies which was a significant percentage of the workforce, which stood at 153 when the consultation began.

“The good news is that additional work has now been found. We can’t go into where that work has come from but it means the number of redundancies has been cut by 25.

“This is obviously good news for Llanfyllin and the reduction in redundancies is an indication of how much the company values the Powys plant.

“We can’t give any promises about the company’s long-term commitment to the plant but it is fair to say the plant is valued by the firm.”

Llanfyllin county councillor Peter Lewis said he was delighted the number of redundancies had been cut.

He said: “The company first said they were looking at cutting 106 jobs out of its 153 staff. But they now say they have revised that figure.

“This means rather than two thirds of the workforce being cut it is now down to about half.

“It is still difficult for those who have been made redundant but at least more people are still in work.

“I also understand that about 30 people who have taken redundancy from the company have already found work in the local area which is good news.”

He added: “The company has also said they are looking to reinvest in the company and that is great news for Llanfyllin.

“It is very important to Llanfyllin that this plant should survive because it is a very important employer.”

By Iain St John