Fears firm set to axe 200 jobs

Up to 200 manufacturing jobs could go at one of Telford's main employers, it was revealed today.

Bosses at TI Automotive, based at Halesfield Industrial Estate, have begun a 90-day consultation with staff over the future of the business.

The company, formerly known as Bundy, makes vehicle parts and has sites all over the world, but bosses say the Telford plant has been failing to make a profit for some time.

Jim Newell, human resources director at the firm's UK base in Oxford, said: "We are consulting our employees and have presented a case to them about the future of the business.

"We have been in discussions with them for the last couple of years about the future of the facility at Telford. The business has faced a pretty severe challenge in the last few years and has not been profitable for some time.

"We as a business cannot sustain this and need to find a way to go forward.

"The facility was built for a much bigger operation and we have been losing ground for some time.

"Basically the facility at Telford is far too big for the operation we have there.

"We have been talking to employees for a number of years about the situation.

"Formal consultation began at the end of last week on how we can rightsize the business.

"There are 200 employees at the Telford site, but we are not saying all of them will be affected by the outcome of the consultation."

According to the company website, TI Automotive is the world's leading supplier of fluid storage, transfer and delivery systems, including brake, fuel and air conditioning applications.

It operates in 27 countries, with more than 100 facilities employing more than 16,000 people.

Mr Newell said: "It is too early to talk about redundancies or closures and I must say the outcome of the consultation may not affect all the staff at the site.

"We have to wait to see what comes out of the consultation. The consultation period typically lasts 90 days and we must wait to see what the employees come up with. We are also in talks with the unions to see if we can find a way forward."

By Iain St John