The Itron factory in Carr Road, Felixstowe.
Felixstowe: More jobs to go at resort factory as manufacturing operations move to Europe
BY MATT BUNN
Thursday, December 27, 2012
12:30 PM
MORE manufacturing workers will be looking for work this year after a meter making firm with a base in Felixstowe moved its manufacturing operations to Europe.
More than 120 people have already been made redundant from Itron Metering Solutions UK in Felixstowe and 10 more manufacturing engineers will leave in March.
The factory in Carr Road, Felixstowe, will remain for research and development purposes with 19 employees who faced the axe being placed into different departments of the business.
Itron is the world’s largest supplier of Smart Meters and using the Felixstowe base for research and development will save an estimated 170 jobs.
Mel Moss, Itron’s HR director for the UK, said: “All the employees who were made redundant received out placement support over 2012 and the feedback from the employees on the support has been excellent.
“We estimate that about 40 per cent have already found alternative employment.
“We are losing a lot of skilled workers so our loss will be somebody else’s gain.”
Meter making services have now been transferred to Hungary and France as part of a major restructuring of the firm’s meter making operations.
Itron had to maintain its output of smart meters this year and has worked with the government in its aim to achieve the 2016 smart meter roll out target.
Mr Moss added: “We have had to maintain production during the course of 2012 until the operations were transferred to Hungary and to France.
“The production levels have been maintained by the employees which was surprising but shows the high level of professionalism.”
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5 comments
I was made redundant on January 27th 2012 but they have not given me 1 once of support since I have left the Factory after 16 years they could not even give me a decent reference.
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Toodle56
Friday, December 28, 2012
...and none of them had any support either.
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Karl Foley
Friday, December 28, 2012
Where does the company get the 40% figure from? From they people I know who worked there, none have got other jobs yet.
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Karl Foley
Friday, December 28, 2012
How sad! There is nothing left (manufacturing wise) here now. I wish those made redundant well.
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Wendiwych
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Wonderful. This firm aims to "achieve the 2016 smart meter target", so it sacks British workers and offshores work to the Continent. Don't know why they didn't go the whole hog and send the work to India or China or Korea. Is this what used to be Sangamo-Weston, by the way?
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T Doff
Thursday, December 27, 2012