140 jobs go as Pilkington closes production line
AROUND 140 workers are to be laid off at the Pilkington glass factory in St Helens.
A statement issued this morning by Japanese parent company Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG) said it was closing the float line at Cowley Hill, one of two it runs in the UK, to match demand.
Float glass is made by floating molten glass on a bed of molten metail to give it a uniform thickness and flat surface.
NSG said: “The group is taking action to reduce float capacity and output to match the requirements of its customers, consistent with its previously announced restructuring program.
“The proposed action is to right-size capacity to further reduce the group’s fixed cost base and deliver the profitability improvement of the group’s European architectural business. The plan is to mothball the CH2 float line in November 2013. Off-line coating, silvering, laminating and warehousing operations will continue on the site.”
It expects the total cost of closing the production line to come to £19m. Earlier this year it annouced 120 job cuts at the St Helens factory. Pilkington employs around 2,500 across the UK.
The unions Unite and the GMB said they were meeting the company’s management in a bid to mitigate the job losses.
