SSP Pumps axes 24 jobs at West plant

A GLOUCESTERSHIRE engineering company is cutting jobs as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic starts to bite in the manufacturing sector.

SPP Pumps is making 24 redundancies at its manufacturing plant in Coleford where 144 are currently employed.

It is not known how many job cuts there are in total at Coleford or elsewhere at the company, which also has offices in Reading.

SPP moved all its manufacturing to a factory on a trading estate in Coleford in the mid-80s when Princess Anne opened a new facility following a £4 million investment programme.

Robert Tichband, chief operating officer, said the company had been trying to avoid job losses but the redundancies, some of which were voluntary, had to be made across all sectors of the business and including the manufacturing centre in Coleford, regional service centres and the Reading office.

He said: “We fought incredibly hard to avoid redundancies and protect jobs.

“However, external economic factors far beyond our control such as project delays or suspensions, the devastating hit to our construction dependent businesses in the UK and abroad, supply chain disruptions and global travel restrictions have all necessitated this difficult decision.

“The measures we had to take, although painful, will provide a sustainable and competitive business that will actually preserve many more jobs across all SPP sites, particularly our factory in Coleford.”