The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
JOBS AT RISK AS FACTORY SET TO CLOSE
Workers face tough time as talks start over plans to shut company premises
About 50 jobs are at risk at a Peterborough manufacturing site which has been earmarked for closure.
Bosses at Glassolutions have begun a consultation exercise with staff over plans to close its Fengate site, which has been in operation for five years.
It is thought about 55 jobs are at risk although managers say they aim to keep any redundancies to a minimium by moving staff to other sites.
Glasssolutions, part of the £120 million turnover SaintGobain Building Glass, supplies specialist architectural and structural glass for commercial and domestic uses. The business employs 1,100 people across 22 locations from Aberdeen to the Isle of Wight.
A spokeswoman for Glassolutions said: “The Peterborough site has been operating as a commercial sealed unit manufacturer since 2012.
“Due to increased competition in the market, we’ve announced our intention to begin a consultation process on the future of the site.
“We are supporting and communicating with employees at the site as we go through the consultation process.
“We are also working closely with individuals and unions who may be affected by the consultation process, supporting those concerned in any way we can.
“Our aim would always be to minimise the amount of any changes to the future of the site and, if redundancies do occur, to try to retain as many colleagues as possible within the group.”
John Bridge, chief executive of Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, said: “These situations are always a challenge for all involved and eveyone wishes they didn’t happen.
“The Peterborough economy is vibrant and lot of companies are creating jobs and new opportunities for people.”
A number of firms have announced plans to move jobs out of Peterborough. These include manufacturer Redring Xpelair, which is to close its Peterborough site with the loss of 150 jobs, and finance companies Travelex, of Thorpe Wood, which is moving 75 jobs to India and Western Union Business Solutions which has moved 50 jobs to Lithuania.