At least 70 jobs face axe at Don & Low

At least 70 jobs face the axe at a Tayside textile firm that has been at the forefront of creating PPE in Scotland.

Forfar-based Don & Low is supplying material to make one million protective gowns, masks and respirators for NHS Scotland.

But bosses say the growing need for medical materials has coincided with a slump in demand for their woven products.

It will mean a loss of 100 jobs in technical textiles but 30 new roles will be created in the non-woven division of the company, which is one of Forfar’s largest employers and has had a presence in the town for 100 years.

It comes just a month after the Scottish Government agreed to provide the business with up to £3.6m towards a specialised machine for the production of material to be used in respirators, costing £4.5m.

Don & Low director Colin Johnson said investment to restructure the business had been taking place for the last two years but this has been “accelerated” by the coronavirus pandemic and a spike in demand for PPE and medical equipment.

“As the business environment is changing, it is necessary to keep transforming the operations by investing in new technologies to ensure the longevity of the company,” he said.

“The decision to reduce the size of the workforce in the wovens part of the business has not been taken lightly. However, it should be seen in the context of an investment programme of around £40m that continues to create additional jobs on the non-woven side of the business.

“The end position for the company is that the investments will provide overall growth in production capacity geared towards product ranges in growing markets that will secure the future of the company and its employees.”

A 45-day consultation period with staff has begun. A company spokesman said he was “as confident as he can be” that the 30 new jobs will be filled by transferring current staff.

“We will be making all of the employees aware of the details of the new jobs,” he said.

“I am as confident as I can be at this stage that we will fill all of these new jobs by means of redeployment.

“That is certainly our intention.”

Davie Lawson, regional officer for Unite the Union, said it was a “very sad day” for the area.

“There’s generations of families that have worked here so it’s hard to take,” he said.

Don & Low in Forfar.