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05/06/2003
Wedgwood factories close with loss of 1,000 jobs
Pottery manufacturer Waterford Wedgwood has announced that it is to close two factories in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and shed 1,000 jobs in the UK.
The move is part of a major restructuring announced on the back of the company’s annual financial report that reveals a decline in sales.
Waterford Wedgwood is to shift the production at its lower-cost Johnson Brothers earthenware manufacturing facilities based at the Eagle and Alexandra plants in Stoke-on-Trent to Asia, in a move that will reduce labour costs.
Although Wedgwood earthenware branded line will be transferred to Barlaston, Waterford Wedgwood said that production of this brand will not otherwise be affected by the restructuring.
In a statement Waterford Wedgwood Chairman, Sir Anthony O’Reilly, said: “Given the ongoing global uncertainty, the group has continued to show resilience but is not immune from the impact. Our current focus is to maintain our strong market positions and improve operating efficiencies.
“The Board’s decision to restructure our earthenware businesses and produce Johnson Brothers’ products at substantially lower costs overseas is in line with this strategy and will yield important benefits in the coming years. A combination of a competitive cost base, innovative product strategy and improved capacity utilisation will result in a swift upturn in profitability when demand grows again.”
The MP for Stoke-on-Trent (Central), Mark Fisher, said he was “horrified and angered” by the news of the closures and he claimed that the company has not made any effort to try and save the jobs at the pottery manufacturing plants. He described the lack of concern for the local community as “breathtaking”.
Irish-based Waterford Wedgwood’s end-of-year report revealed that the company had returned to the black in the last year, making a pre-tax profit of 7.2 million euro, in the preceding period, the company reported a 53.5 million euro loss. However, Waterford Wedgwood reported that sales had dropped from 997.6 million euro to 951.3 million euro.
(SP)
The move is part of a major restructuring announced on the back of the company’s annual financial report that reveals a decline in sales.
Waterford Wedgwood is to shift the production at its lower-cost Johnson Brothers earthenware manufacturing facilities based at the Eagle and Alexandra plants in Stoke-on-Trent to Asia, in a move that will reduce labour costs.
Although Wedgwood earthenware branded line will be transferred to Barlaston, Waterford Wedgwood said that production of this brand will not otherwise be affected by the restructuring.
In a statement Waterford Wedgwood Chairman, Sir Anthony O’Reilly, said: “Given the ongoing global uncertainty, the group has continued to show resilience but is not immune from the impact. Our current focus is to maintain our strong market positions and improve operating efficiencies.
“The Board’s decision to restructure our earthenware businesses and produce Johnson Brothers’ products at substantially lower costs overseas is in line with this strategy and will yield important benefits in the coming years. A combination of a competitive cost base, innovative product strategy and improved capacity utilisation will result in a swift upturn in profitability when demand grows again.”
The MP for Stoke-on-Trent (Central), Mark Fisher, said he was “horrified and angered” by the news of the closures and he claimed that the company has not made any effort to try and save the jobs at the pottery manufacturing plants. He described the lack of concern for the local community as “breathtaking”.
Irish-based Waterford Wedgwood’s end-of-year report revealed that the company had returned to the black in the last year, making a pre-tax profit of 7.2 million euro, in the preceding period, the company reported a 53.5 million euro loss. However, Waterford Wedgwood reported that sales had dropped from 997.6 million euro to 951.3 million euro.
(SP)
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