Hundreds of workers at Scottish factory laid off on Christmas Eve

HUNDREDS OF FACTORY workers have lost their jobs on Christmas Eve and do not know when they will be paid.

Employees at the Kaiam electrical components plant in Livingston, Scotland, were sent home on Thursday and told not to return.

The workers were then convened on Monday by administrators who told them there was “no option” but to make 310 of 338 employees redundant with immediate effect.

Local politicians have voiced outrage at the “disgraceful” treatment of staff, and timing of the shock closure.

Community members have set up a hub for affec- ted families and have been taking donations of supermarket vouchers, toys and other goods for the festive period.

On Thursday, an employee told BBC Scotland: “We were all called into a meeting and they read out a statement from the people who run the company saying there wasn’t enough money to pay the wages.

“The usual pay day is the 27th but it had been brought forward to the 21st for Christmas but now they say they don’t even know if it will be paid on the 27th. My rent is due in the next few days and I don’t know what I am going to do.”

On Monday, joint administrators Blair Nimmo and Alistair McAlinden of KPMG told employees the move had been sparked by declining work levels, high costs of operation at the site and the absence of customer orders.

The remaining 28 employees have been retained to help the joint administrators explore a sale of the business.

The Scottish government’s Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) programme, which responds to redundancy situations, has been mobilised.