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160 jobs facing axe in closure
Bethan Dorsett14/ 2/2006
OVER 160 workers are facing the axe after Federal Mogul announced plans to close its operation at the once massive Turner's complex.
The US car part manufacturers told its Rochdale workers on Friday to expect redundancies, stating that production was likely to close at the end of the year and be switched to either South Africa or France.
The company is due to enter into consultation with workers and union leaders this week before any final decision is made. A GMB representative said workers had been expecting the announcement since Federal Mogul went into administration.
He said: "We have been told that production could be moved to South Africa or France.
"This is a standard 90-day consultation period expected to deal with notification of redundancies. This plan has been in the back of everyone's minds for a long time so it has not come out of the blue.
"But the staff feel they have not been treated with any dignity or have even been treated as human beings."
He said the plans were not expected to affect workers' pensions.
Rochdale MP Paul Rowen described the announcement as another blow to the manufacturing industry in the town.
He said: "Federal Mogul does not have a good reputation in this country and I am extremely disappointed that they could be moving production to other countries to cut costs.
"I want to do everything I can to assist the workers and their families."
He added: "I have already tabled a question in parliament about trade and industry, particularly about jobs moving from the UK to countries like China, which seems to be a continuing trend."
Federal Mogul says the possible closure of its Rochdale plant forms part of a three-year restructuring bid to 'improve its financial performance and meet customer expectations.'
Up to 25 sites worldwide could be affected and its workforce is expected to be cut by 10 per cent.
A spokesman said the work carried out at the Spotland site could be done by other factories in South Africa and France, but no decision would be made before the consultation.
"The Rochdale team has done everything they can to meet the needs of the business and we regret the circumstances that have made such a proposal necessary," he said.
"We have to complete globally with other manufacturers and to do that we have to reduce excess production capacity and consolidate our manufacturing facilities."
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Are Federal Mogul workers going to get the same sort of 'consultation' that we are getting for our hospital?!
Then again, what chance do workers have when property developers want to cash in and build houses?
Are the Rochdale Development Agency going to try to safeguard these manufacturing jobs or are they going to 'do an Akzo' and spend their energy (and our money) on defending harebrained schemes of putting homes on contaminated land?
At the last Rochdale Development AGM I heard that Countryside Properties PLC were described as being part of the 'Rochdale Renaissance'... What planet are these people on coming out with such tripe?
...I suppose manufacturing jobs in existing factories aren't that 'sexy' when the big construction companies want to build bland tin sheds for warehousing and call centres or Lego houses that look ok in glossy brochures but are a nightmare to live in.
Perhaps I'm getting old, or is it that I'm old enough to remember other Grand Projects in Rochdale?- the Black Box, bus station, market with, brown ceramic tiles that fell on your head and... Ashfield Valley- it looked great on paper but it was a different thing living there.
What does all this rant have in common?... big business that think little of its loyal workforce after poisoning them, then messing with their pensions, then sell the contaminated site off cheap to a bunch of cowboys who have shown themselves worthy of their stetsons.
The writing was on the wall for jobs at Turners as soon as MMC's vandals turned up at a weekend to destroy the woodland. First they axed the trees- now the jobs get axed.
What chance does British manufacturing have when national construction companies like Countryside Properties have the ear of government and the development agencies and quangos that seem to spend more time and money on White Elephants and glossy brochures about 'Renaissance', 'Regeneration' and 'Renewal' but seem to turn a blind eye to contamination, safety and proper public consultation?
16/02/2006 at 16:10