More gloom on the jobs front

10:00am Thursday 25th September 2008

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THERE was more gloom on the jobs front this week with two firms in Chippenham announcing redundancies.

Staff at Wavin Plastics in Parsonage Way were told on Tuesday that 44 employees would lose their jobs.

One employee who did not want to be named said he and his colleagues had been expecting the news for some time.

He said: "We don't know who is going to lose their jobs yet. We are still in the dark.

"We have been told that 100 will go from all the Wavin factories across the board, but 44 of these will be from Chippenham.

"We knew it was going to happen and we have just been waiting the last couple of months."

The 44 jobs for the chop are spread across the manufacturing, production and admin departments of the firm.

A spokesman for Wavin said: "These are challenging times for everyone at the moment and Wavin is no exception.

"There is a general downturn in the market and we need to become stronger and more competitive to face the tougher conditions."

The spokesman said he was not able to confirm or deny any further redundancies.

As well as Wavin, redundancies have also been announced at Avon Automotives on Bumpers Farm, where 230 people are employed.

A spokesman refused to say how many jobs would be going but an insider said it was about 20.

The move has sparked rumours that the company is considering moving production abroad.

Factory manager Mike Franklin said he could categorically confirm there were currently no plans for the branch to shut down or move.

He said: "I don't know where these rumours are coming from but they are untrue."