Gilwern car parts firm warns 130 jobs at risk
- Published
The Northern Automotive Systems plant at Gilwern makes decorative trim for car interiors
About 130 workers at a car trim plant in Monmouthshire could lose their jobs.
Northern Automotive Systems in Gilwern is consulting staff on cutting over a third of the 320-strong workforce.
Parent company NBHX said the site had made "considerable financial losses" in recent years, with market shifts due to Brexit also a factor in the decision.
Monmouthshire councillor Jane Pratt said it was "really worrying" and hoped the Welsh Government could step in to help the company and save jobs.
A spokesman for NBHX said the cutbacks were mainly "due to the considerable financial losses made by the plant in recent years, and as the market shifts created by Brexit resulting as a contributing factor for NBHX decision makers".
He said the firm was also closing a plant at Heilsbronn in Germany in a bid to become "more attractive to customers and economically more stable", with the restructuring to be complete by the end of the year.
Ms Pratt, who represents Gilwern, said: "Potentially 130 people losing their jobs is really worrying and it will have an impact on the local community because the people there use the shops and pubs.
"I hope the Welsh Government will have some discussions with the company and look at every avenue to try and save some of those jobs," she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Wayne Hodgins, a councillor in neighbouring Blaenau Gwent, said he was "very concerned" for people from his county who worked at the plant, especially in the run-up to Christmas.
"It's never a nice time to hear about redundancies but it's going to be hard to find other opportunities at the moment," he said.
"There needs to be more support out there to support people through these unprecedented times."
- Published25 September 2020
- Published24 January 2019
- Published2 April 2015
