Jobs loss at GKN in Telford is a 'body blow’ for Shropshire economy, says Unite

A loss of 251 skilled jobs at GKN in Telford is ‘a body blow’ to the local economy, Unite, the country’s largest union has said.

The loss of jobs has been on the cards since last December - as the contracts for building the Defender chassis platforms for Jaguar Land Rover came to an end.

However, Unite today said that it was disappointed that GKN had not secured more contracts to keep the highly-skilled workforce in jobs.

The last day for the 230 workers, including wielders and engineers, is expected to be 18 August; which will leave about 350 workers remaining, including in the wheel shop, at the Telford plant.

The redundancies had been deferred to complete the Land Rover T5 platform contract obligations.

A further 21 redundancies at Telford were also announced as the hybrid power project for buses was absorbed into the GKN Driveline in Birmingham; making a total of 251 job losses.

Unite regional officer Matt Jones said: “Although these job losses have been on the cards since last December, this is still very bad news for the workers and their families, and, more widely, is a body blow to the Shropshire economy.

“These are skilled jobs that are being lost – the bedrock for UK manufacturing. As a country, we can’t afford to lose these skills in a challenging post-Brexit world.

“This is a very competitive market influenced by global demand, however, Unite is very disappointed that new contracts have not been secured by GKN to replace the legacy contracts as this would have secured employment at the Telford site.

“Unite would welcome further discussions about investment and future projects at Telford. We are working with management and the other unions to explore avenues to try and secure as many new jobs as possible.”