Jobs axe falls as Telford factory relocates
More than 60 jobs will be lost at a business in Telford as it was today revealed its manufacturing arm was being moved 180 miles to the North East.
Sixty-four workers at Redman Fisher Engineering Ltd, on Halesfield 18, will lose their jobs after the company decided to move its plant to Middlesbrough.
The firm has been taken over by Lionweld Kennedy after a review, which showed continuing losses in the last few years.
Access Design and Engineering, a division of Redman Fisher, makes platforms, walkways, handrailing, stairtreads, metalwork and steelwork in mild steel, stainless steel, aluminium glass reinforced plastic.
Ian Robinson, managing director of Access Design and Engineering, said: "This proposal is the result of a very detailed review of our options. We very much regret the impact on our employees at our Halesfield site, but we are confident it is in the best interests of Access Design's long term future and its employees as a whole."
The shopfloor will lose 29 members of staff while 35 office staff will also lose their jobs. A small number of jobs will be saved.
In a statement released today, the company said the review was carried out as a result of continuing losses incurred over recent years at the Halesfield site, and of the current and predicted levels of business.
An employee, who did not wish to be named, said: "The company will be closing in mid-January. There has already been a restructuring process where up to 20 people off the shopfloor went.
"Now it's totally closing to be moved to Middlesborough to our partner company called Lionweld Kennedy, part of Hill & Smith Holdings Ltd.
"A lot of the workers have between 10 and 15 years service at the Telford site as the group have merged companies with Eurogrid & Access in the late 1990s. The new management came into force in 2010.
Since then there has been two lots of redundancies, this final closure is the third."
Bosses said a formal process of consultation with employee representatives will commence shortly.
It is the second jobs blow for the town in as many days after it was revealed Telford's Blockbuster store is to close tomorrow, with the loss of seven jobs.
