By Paul Homewood
The Loughborough Echo brings news of job losses at The Brush Group, a manufacturer of power generation products:
LOUGHBOROUGH MP Nicky Morgan has said that jobs being cut at the Brush is a “big loss” for Loughborough.
The MP said that the priority is now making sure that the correct support is in place for staff.
She told the Echo: “It’s very sad news and it will be a big loss for the town.
“Brush is an iconic Loughborough company and the first priority is the workforce who need to know what is happening.
“It is all the other people that are affected too.”
She said that it is a bit like when AstraZeneca – the pharmaceutical company – first announced that it would be cutting jobs in Loughborough.
She added: “Many many people have worked there and to see it in difficult or changing times, it is going to be very difficult for all of Loughborough.”
She said that it is “very important” that staff get all the support that they need.
Mrs Morgan said that she had been sent a letter to her office from Brush and that it said that it was still reaching a conclusion and that people were being told to come back to work on Monday for an update.
When asked if she thought that the job losses could be due to Brexit, she said: “I think it is too early to speculate, the first concern is the employees and supporting their future.”
This morning (Thursday, February 1) around 270 Loughborough Brush Generator shop floor workers were told to go home.
The Echo was told that an announcement was made at around 10am and the newspaper spoke to workers as they made their way back home over the Meadow Lane and Nottingham Road bridges.
The company released a statement earlier that said:
“The Brush Group, a manufacturer of power generation products, intends to restructure its generator manufacturing capacity as a result of the continued deterioration of the power generation market and a subsequent decline in demand.
“The company has entered into consultation with its workforce about the future of its 2-pole turbo-generator production at its Loughborough site.
“The consultations will affect up to 270 positions in Loughborough out of a total UK workforce of 790.
“Traditional power markets have seen a significant decline in recent years, driven by the overall growth in renewables. This has led to a fall in demand for the company’s generators and a substantial overcapacity in global generator manufacturing.
“Sales at Brush peaked in 2012 at 208 units, dwindling to 70 sales in 2017. Of the 2017 sales, a mere 21 were built in Loughborough.
“The other activities at the Loughborough site, including the transformer manufacturing business, as well as its other facilities in Wales and Derbyshire, will be unaffected following the turbo-generator restructuring.
“The Loughborough site will also maintain an engineering team and R&D capabilities.”
Chris Abbott, CEO of Brush said: “The simple fact is that our 2-pole operation has a critical shortage of orders. The market has seen a major structural shift and we have suffered as a result.
“We must therefore consult on the need to reduce our manufacturing capacity in order to safeguard the long term future of Brush and protect the legacy of one of Britain’s longest established manufacturing businesses.
“We will do our utmost to ensure that the affected employees are supported to the best of our ability and that we find the most favourable outcomes for all concerned.”
Chris Abbott added: “Loughborough nevertheless remains at the heart of our after-market operations, which are flourishing, and the Transformers unit, which is also performing well.
“We will also continue to focus upon innovative solutions with investment in our engineering, research and product development presence at Loughborough – where we have a real leadership edge.”
https://www.loughboroughecho.net/news/local-news/loughborough-mp-speaks-out-brush-14234205
Nicky Morgan is being grossly dishonest when she refuses to rule out Brexit as a factor. She knows full well that it is the decline in traditional power markets that is responsible, just as the company statement explains.
She also knows full well that it is climate policies, not least the UK’s Climate Change Act, that have caused this decline, by heavily subsidising renewable energy. As an MP and Minister who has consistently supported successive governments’ policies in this area, she bears her own share of responsibility for these job losses.
It is also ironic that many of the problems facing Brush have been caused by the EU as well, an organisation that Morgan is so desperate that we don’t leave.
It is a sad fact of economic life that job losses occur all the time. But it is doubly galling when they are the result of subsidised competition.
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February 5, 2018 at 08:12AM
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