Coventry LTI workers rally support

[dutchman]

Workers who lost their jobs at cab maker LTI have been handing out leaflets in Coventry, campaigning to keep the firm in the city.



Nearly 100 staff were made redundant when parent firm Manganese Bronze called in administrators.

Union officials from Unite and ex-workers spent Saturday in the city centre urging people to support them.

An online petition has been set up calling for ministers' help to keep the factory in Coventry.

When the firm, which makes traditional London black cabs, went into administration last month, 99 staff were made redundant out of a total of 176 workers in Coventry.

City councillor Bally Singh, who has been backing the former workers, said: "We should have the same support for the black cab industry here in Coventry that other countries show for their own industries."

[dutchman]

An online petition has been set up calling for ministers' help to keep the factory in Coventry.

Sadly I doubt ministers in London give a damn about LTI or Coventry?

[dutchman]

What on Earth could the government do?

Well, for a start they could ban the import of foreign-made taxis, and by "foreign" I mean anything not made in Coventry

[rebbonk]

Expecting help from the government is a waste of time. There are far bigger companies than LTI gone to the wall.

Governments decided years ago that we didn't need manufacturing....

[dutchman]

Expecting help from the government is a waste of time. There are far bigger companies than LTI gone to the wall.

Governments decided years ago that we didn't need manufacturing....

And yet they spent £18billion baling-out an Irish bank for which neither the British nor Irish governments had any responsibility and another £65billion for Lloyds-TSB which the taxpayer is unlikely to ever see again.

[rebbonk]

Source : San Francisco Chronicle

[rebbonk]

This reminds me of the Rover production lines...



Source : Daily Mail

[dutchman]

Good find Rebbonk

The reason they're so expensive is that they they have a separate chassis and bolt-on replacement body panels. This makes them a) much safer for passengers and b) cheaper to repair after a scrape than their monocoque bodied alternatives. The reason they're usually black is so that resprays always match perfectly.

Here's a cinema short from 1960:

[dutchman]

Coventry cab maker LTI gets Unite Christmas card plea



A trade union representing workers at a black cab manufacturer has presented administrators with a Christmas card calling for them to save the firm.

Almost 100 jobs were lost at LTI in Coventry in October, when its parent company Manganese Bronze called in administrators.

The company said it had been losing money for the past four years.

Members of Unite presented a card to Price Waterhouse Coopers with a message "keep manufacturing in Coventry".

The union has also asked the administrators to ensure any potential buyer for LTI commits to building the London cab in the UK.

London's classic black cab design is exclusively produced in Coventry, with the latest TX4 model introduced in 2006.

Alternative designs have recently started to become more common on the streets of London, as other car makers, including Mercedes, have converted their own models to meet the city's strict taxi regulations.