Witter set to end manufacturing in Deeside with the potential loss of 94 jobs

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A Deeside towbar manufacturer is set end manufacturing in Deeside with the loss of 94 jobs.

Witter Towbars on the Deeside Industrial Estate has entered a 90-day consultation with its employees over proposed job losses, a move which will see manufacturing of towbars at the Deeside HQ cease.

The work is expected to be farmed out to countries where production costs will be lower, one insider told us it is likely to be Romania but that is unconfirmed.

Sales and administration jobs will remain on site.

Unite the Union are also being consulted over the plans which will see the production of towbars end at the site on December 31.

Responding to the announcement Unite Wales Regional Officer Jo Goodchild said;

“I confirm that on 22 August 2017 we were notified that Witter Towbars in Deeside are proposing to make 94 redundancies, the reason being that production is being relocated to other low cost countries in the Horizon Global Group.

The news is a devastating blow for the workforce, their families and the automotive industry.

We have now entered a 90 day consultation with the Company and Unite’s priority is to ensure that our members’ valuable expertise and skills are not lost and are transferred to other employers in the sector.”

Alyn and Deeside Assembly Member Carl Sargeant said:

“I am devastated to learn that Witter Towbars is set to end its manufacturing on Deeside.

The firm is a long-established and valued employer in the area and this has come as a real shock.

The loss of 94 jobs is a big blow to the individuals involved, their families and to our community as a whole.

“I will be writing immediately to Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure Ken Skates to ask what support is available to staff from the Welsh Government.

I also urge any constituents affected to contact my office should they need my help.”

Witter Towbars was founded in 1950 by the late Colin Witter operating from a converted cottage in Chester.

Witter saw an opportunity to meet the growing demand for easy to fit towing brackets for caravan and trailer owners who benefited from the increased leisure time in post-war Britain

Within ten years the company had outgrown its premises and moved to industrial buildings on the canal side within Chester.

In 1997 the company moved to its current HQ on Deeside Industrial Park.

The move allowed for a big expansion of the factory so to towbars could be manufactured on a larger scale and more efficiently.

The company which is now owned by Horizon Global European Holdings Limited employs 124 people.

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