Hoover Candy have confirmed that up to 337 jobs will be lost at their facility at Merthyr Tydfill. Unions have held crisis talks with managers at the Hoover headquarters in south Wales after Candy (who own Hoover) announced up to 337 manufacturing jobs could be lost.
The company, which makes washing machines and tumble driers in Merthyr Tydfil, said it could no longer make competitively-priced items at the site.
Unite and TUC members also met the Welsh deputy first minister.
Ieuan Wyn Jones later told AMs the government’s response would be “imaginative, decisive and swift”.
Hoover announced in a statement yesterday afternoon (18th November 2008) it was starting a consultation with its manufacturing staff. Which, as many of us will recall as happened at Hotpoint recently, was a prelude to closure of manufacturing in the UK.
Hoover Candy said that, “Regretfully, to ensure that Hoover Candy becomes more competitive we must consider all of our options, including the possibility of the cessation of manufacture at Merthyr Tydfil.”
Andy Richards, Wales’ regional organiser for Unite, said prior to the meetings they were hoping for “scope for negotiation” with Hoover management.
“For sure, I think the workforce has been aware of difficulties at the plant, exacerbated by the financial crisis, but where there is hope we’ll continue to explore whatever options are open to us,” he said.
He also added that the union was dealing with a number of companies facing downturns, including some who had not yet made announcements of possible job losses.
“There’s things that we can do, but the scale of the meltdown is worrying,” he said.
Questioned as to whether the assembly government could offer any realistic help to companies such as Hoover, he replied: “I don’t think it’s an impossible task, but the scale of what they can provide will be dependent on what they get from central government.
“We’re looking for the assembly to maximise the support they can give to manufacturing and industry across Wales. The scale and seriousness of the financial crisis is unprecedented.”
The factory employs a total of 450 staff. Aside from manufacturing, it has finance, legal, IT, order processing, transport and logistics, warehouse and distribution departments there which are not affected by the announcement at this stage.
Merthyr Tydfil’s assembly member Huw Lewis told the chamber that “We can’t give up this factory without a fight. “It’s the last great manufacturer of its kind in my part of Wales and the potential job losses would be a major blow to the strategic regeneration of the northern Valleys.” Mr Lewis said earlier this month that jobs could be under threat.
He called Tuesday’s news a “terrible blow” for the workforce and Merthyr Tydfil.
Should the Hoover plant close as intended Hoover Candy will be left with all but no UK production at all and certainly no production of laundry appliances which started in Merthyr Tydfill in 1948.
Of course this wasn’t entirely unexpected as we reported last week, in a previous story, concerns had been raised about the future of production from this site.