900 Bosch Jobs To Move To Hungary

The Welsh assembly government has pledged its full support to 900 Bosch workers who will lose their jobs when the company's south Wales plant closes. The German motor parts company has recommend closure of its Vale of Glamorgan site to its board, transferring work to Hungary in 2011.

Unite's David Lewis said the closure is "devastating". Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said staff would be helped to find new jobs or gain skills.

The factory opened in Miskin in 1991 to make alternator products for cars, with the help of £21m in public grants from the Welsh Development Agency, which was subsequently absorbed into the Welsh Assembly Government.
At its peak it employed some 1,500 people.

However, the company warned the workforce in September last year that jobs were at risk unless demand and sales improved.
Announcing a 90-day consultation in October, it warned that it expected a sales decline to continue, slashed by up to 65% in 2010.

Following the review, management spent Thursday informing the workforce of their decision to move out of Wales.
It said it was facing the worst economic downturn for decades, saying that this had "left its mark on the Bosch Group".
In a statement, the firm said consultations are now being extended until February, as unions and staff attempt to thrash out redundancy terms.

David Lewis said Unite will hold a mass meeting at the plant on today where it will explain how it intends to support its members. David said "Since October last year, Unite has been seeking alternatives to the closure of the site, but the company has not supported our proposals. This is a terrible blow to 900 workers and their families. We will now vigorously campaign for the best possible deal for the workforce. I think everyone is bitterly disappointed that there's not a hope of something being retained," he said.

"The company confirmed that they have a very skilled, a good workforce, but that doesn't take away from the destruction of people's livelihoods and the difficulties for their families.

"So, they are completely and utterly bereft I think of what they can see for the future."