New jobs hope as aerospace firm to build £130m "super site" on edge of Coventry

[dutchman]

Sites in Birmingham, Maidenhead and Holbrook Lane will all close under the plan



Aerospace company Meggitt has unveiled plans to build a £130m “super site” in Ansty , the Telegraph can reveal.

The plans, outlined in a leaked internal memo from chief operating officer Tony Wood, also reveal that the company plans to shut down its sites in Holbrook Lane, in Coventry; Wharfdale Road, in Birmingham; and Maidenhead with a view to relocating staff to the new “hub”.

Its staff were due to be told the news of the plans for the £130million, 440,000sqft facility this morning.

The company plans to have the new centre up and running by the end of 2019.

The internal memo says the transition will take place over the next two years.

It reads: “We envisage a two-year transition programme which will minimise the impact on our teams, all of whom will be given the option to work at the new facility.”

It added: “Informal discussions with colleagues and unions have already begun. Formal consultation will now take place which the local site HR teams will coordinate and continue until early 2018, with the intention of the site being operational by the end of 2019.”

When a memo is written entirely in 1990s corporate catchphrases I smell something fishy.

[dutchman]

£130m Meggitt "super site" creation at Ansty could actually see jobs LOST

Meggitt has confirmed that jobs could actually be LOST under plans to create a new “super site” on the edge of Coventry.

A leaked company memo seemed to suggest that the move could potentially create hundreds of new roles , but it now appears that’s not actually the case.

Staff at the aerospace company’s Meggitt Control Systems department, in Holbrook Lane, Coventry , will be at risk of losing their jobs after the Telegraph discovered the work will be moved to the company’s sister site in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, in the USA.

It is understood about 100 employees will be affected by the department’s move, although the company insists it will seek to re-deploy those affected into the new £130m site being created at Ansty.

A leaked memo, from chief operating officer Tony Wood, revealed by the Telegraph yesterday stated the new site at Ansty would “provide longer employment security and growth for up to 1,000 colleagues.”

But it now appears this refers to a plan to “safeguard” jobs by moving employees from three existing sites, due to close under the Ansty plan, rather than an intention to create new roles.

A spokesman for Meggitt confirmed some existing Coventry roles would be moved to the States under the plans.

Asked what would happen if employees felt unable to relocate to the new site at Ansty, a spokesman for Meggitt said: “We are now going into formal consultation with our employees and union reps on the proposed transformation.

“At this time we are unable to comment on job numbers. Once we have completed our consultation period with the workforce we will have a better understanding of the impact on the workforce numbers.

“Our announcement today will potentially safeguard up to 1,000 jobs in the UK Aerospace industry. Meggitt aim to transfer as many colleagues as possible to the new facility who take the option to move across to the super site at Ansty Park.

“We fully appreciate that not all our colleagues may wish to transfer for a variety of reasons, the company would look to minimise any job losses and would prefer to avoid any redundancies.

“Wherever possible, the company would seek to offer options on voluntary redundancies to those who express an interest at an appropriate stage in the transition, but the company would not expect to be able to release people with a redundancy package in the short term.”