Jobs fears at storage firm

Up to 38 jobs could go at an Oswestry cold storage firm as bosses denied rumours the company could close. They said Cold Move was doing all it could to cut the potential number of losses.

Cold Move director James Woodward said: "The senior management team and myself have left no stone unturned in our attempts to minimise these losses and we still have hopes that we will secure further contracts which will reduce the job losses.

"We are actively in negotiation for two further substantial contracts which have the potential to fill the Oswestry site. But as these have not yet been secured, we have to plan for the worst case scenario. We want to stress that Cold Move is not closing."

Transport operations for Cold Move are being centralised at the Company's Stone Cross Park depot in Warrington, but transport planning will stay in Oswestry. Some jobs will move to Stone Cross Park because of this but some office staff will lose their jobs. The hardest hit area will be warehouse administration and operations where currently there are 48 workers.

Mr Woodward, who stressed the figures for potential job losses were only a worse case picture, said: "We have identified the need to reduce this by 19.

"We do not expect any redundancy to take place before June 13 and still have a very real hope that we will be able to announce further business wins before that date which obviously will have a favourable impact on the numbers."

He said the escalation of fuel costs was having an effect, not just on Cold Move but on transport firms both locally and nationally.