Sven Christiansen: Dudley furniture factory workers made redundant

Sven Christiansen is based on the Pensnett Estate in Kingswinford, Dudley

About 150 workers at a furniture factory have been made redundant with immediate effect.

Staff at Sven Christiansen in Dudley said they were "gutted" when they were told during a meeting on 4 February.

"I felt like I'd had my stomach ripped out," wood machinist Ian Ellis said. "I have a young family to support."

Managing director William O'Brien said the situation was "desperately sad" and that the business was facing huge debt as a result of Brexit and the pandemic.

"Our problem was not lack of business, but the huge build up of debt due to Covid," he said.

"While we were shut, or working at much-reduced capacity, our rent, rates and many other fixed expenses kept racking up, with no or much-reduced income."

Sven Christiansen, which specialises in office furniture, has been manufacturing since the 1970s

Mr Ellis started working at the factory in 2017. The work was great, he said, and news of redundancy was a "massive surprise".

"We were all gathered into the showroom, the owner came out and read a short message that the company was falling on hard financial times due to Covid and Brexit, and they were unable to recover and they were closing down with immediate effect, and we were to get our stuff and leave the premises," he said.

"There was no warning, nothing."

Mr O'Brien said he had hoped to sell the company, but when an interested party dropped out the business was left "with no way forward".

"We have filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, and we are in the process of disposing of the assets of the business," he said.