Pirelli’s Carlisle, England, factory, which employs 1,000 workers, is set to cut back 60 jobs from the firm’s operation due to foreign competition and lost orders, say local news sources.
The job cuts are to come into effect in the fall of this year.
Pirelli’s spokesmen have told news sources that the cuts are necessary to ensure the future survival of the large facility. They also stressed that there are no current plans to move out of the factory and that the company is pursuing an ongoing investment plan bringing machine upgrades and increased production capacity to the plant. Talks with the trade union over the redundancies are under way, though union officials declined to comment on news of the job losses.
The cuts are the result of two major causes: commodity tires produced on automatic tire presses have declined in price, leading to a decrease in demand for those produced on the factory’s PL8 automatic building machines; identical products are being produced in low-cost countries, affording them the competitive edge.
News outlets received the following statement from Pirelli: “Although difficult for all concerned this course of action will help safeguard the future of the plant – and the company will strive to minimize the impact on our workforce.
“On a more positive note, we continue to invest in the Carlisle plant, with the installation of 10 new large presses and the upgrade of some building machines, to increase our capacity in large tires.
“Within the next few months we anticipate signing a contract for delivery of a wind turbine, to improve our costs.” (Courtesy of Tire Review/Tyres & Accessories)
