Cooper tyres (Avon Rubber) Melksham Wiltshire job losses

[Petrol Pete]

Yesterday Cooper tyres (USA) locked 700 workers out of the tyre manufacturing plant (Avon rubber) in Melksham Wiltshire.
Workers arrived to find a notice on the gate asking all 700 of them to attend a meeting in the car park later that day.

All were paid for that day , it was announced that (approx.) 300 of them were to be made redundant.

The car tyre manufacturing side of the business is to be moved to Serbia, but the car competition (racing) tyre and motorcycle tyre manufacturing would remain in Melksham. a good thing , I guess...until ??

Tyres have been produced on this site for almost as long as cars have existed. I put 4 'Avon' tyres on my car a while ago because the worn out ones on were Avons, and I could see no reason why I should not replace 'like for like' while keeping British manufacturing alive (a bit). Either way, a sad day for a small town like Melksham for whom Cooper (Avon) tyres are the biggest employer.

 

[Eddy77]

Sad indeed. There is a lot more to come imho due, in part at least, to Brexit. Hold on tight!

 

[Gazwould]

Sad times , everything is going tits up for British manufacturing , taxes , Brexsick , fuel duty it's all against us .

Glad the Rallycross tyres will still be made there , excellent series .

 

[Petrol Pete]

Sad indeed. There is a lot more to come imho due, in part at least, to Brexit. Hold on tight!

Brexit (probably) has nothing to do with this as Cooper (a USA company) has been in charge for a while now and have had plants in the USA , China and Serbia for a number of years and are simply consolidating their business as most normal punters don't give a fruck where the tyres for their
Toyota Yaris come from as long as they are cheap , but racing drivers and motorcyclists tend to think a little differently.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Keep Brexit discussions to the Politics thread please else the thread will be closed cheers

 

[markjay]

It can be very difficult to support British manufacturing simply by choosing British brands.......

My Dunlop tyres have a 'Made in Germany' on them.

My two Vauxhall Omegas I used to own were made in Rüsselsheim, Germany (though the V6 engines they fitted to them were actually made in Ellesmere Port).

Etc, etc....

So unless you know which factory actually made the British product you buy... there is no way of telling if you are actually supporting British manufacturing.

 

[Dryce]

Sad times , everything is going tits up for British manufacturing , taxes , Brexsick , fuel duty it's all against us .

It's not a new process.

The change in the industrial landscape in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s was much greater.

Still sad times.

 

[stevedol]

It is sad, but it's not a done deal yet, They're entering a period of consultation before deciding whether or not to do this, (which in reality probably just means it's drawn out a little longer before it's announced as a definite.

I thought this, or even full closure, was on the cards when I left there 16 years ago, so I'm not really surprised to have heard the announcement yesterday, though it will be sad times for many if/when it truely is announced and the redundancies start.

 

[st13phil]

It is sad, but it's not a done deal yet, They're entering a period of consultation before deciding whether or not to do this, (which in reality probably just means it's drawn out a little longer before it's announced as a definite.

It will be going through "consultation" because the law demands it due to the number of redundancies involved. A well intentioned regulation, but in most cases more an act of cruelty adding to the uncertainty for those affected.

 

[timk]

Sad news. I live 5 mins down the road from this place and Melksham doesn't have an awful lot else in terms of employers that size; I hope those out of a job can find work elsewhere quickly.

 

[horatio]

Brexit (probably) has nothing to do with this as Cooper (a USA company) has been in charge for a while now and have had plants in the USA , China and Serbia for a number of years and are simply consolidating their business as most normal punters don't give a fruck where the tyres for their
Toyota Yaris come from as long as they are cheap , but racing drivers and motorcyclists tend to think a little differently.

It's a convenient excuse, factories closing & moving abroad is hardly something new. Sad news.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

What's surprising is that it's taken so long for manufacturing to move from the UK (average income £25,000) to Serbia (average income less than £5,000).

I interviewed at Fort Dunlop, in Birmingham, in the Seventies for a degree scholarship, I couldn't get out of there fast enough - of the dozen or so industrials that saw me, it was the most awful place of work that you could imagine.

 

[Flyinspanner]

I just feel sorry for those who will lose their jobs, and the knock on effect to the community there, sad times.