GKN to Axe another 560 Staff
GKN, the car engineer, said yesterday that they are going to cut another 560 staff in the United Kingdom as part of their restructuring in order to deal with the impact of the downturn on the business.
These jobs are to be lost from the closing of 3 factories in Burnley and Midlands, consolidating their driveline component operations in the United Kingdom to their Erdington, Birmingham plant. The Hamstead forge facility of the company will also close by the end of this year, along with the close of their Walsall car parts facility in 2010, which will cut 323 workers. One hundred fifty jobs at their Telford auto structures plant will be lost as well due to a sustained and dramatic reduction in orders, as described by the company. Additionally, 91 jobs in the aerospace division of GKN will be lost, which will include the closing of their aerospace services in Luton and Burnley.
Nigel Stein, GKN’s Chief Executive, said that these actions announced are regretted, but they are essential for the company in order to deal with the downturn of the global economy, which is affecting the automotive industry in particular. These are unprecedented times, he continued, and they have to protect their position as the leading supplier of automotives, as well as make sure that they are in a strong position so that they can meet the needs of their customers now and after the markets recover.
GKN has also announced that they will be investing £7 million into modernizing and upgrading their manufacturing capability in Erdington during the next 3 years as part of the restructuring. This will create additional jobs there.
For more information, go to www.gkn.com