MAJOR parts manufacturer and supplier to the car industry has cut around 140 jobs at its only British plant in Wrexham.
BOS Automotive makes parcel racks, boot covers and luggage nets for most car manufacturers and suppliers including Ford, Toyota, Faurecia, Fiat and General Motors.
It intends to scale down operations to a skeleton staff to maintain relations with those manufacturers still operating in the UK, but will move the rest of its operation to Eastern Europe where it claims labour is cheaper and most suppliers are now relocating.
'As with many businesses producing for the UK automotive sector, it has become increasingly difficult to remain competitive whilst supplying from within the UK,' said Wrexham BOS general manager Carlton Herrington.
'The loss of Vauxhall Luton and MG Rover has had farreaching effects throughout the industry.
'In addition to this, our UK-based customers wish to procure more and more products from within Eastern Europe.
'Other automotive companies facing the same economic facts have already closed their UK sites and now BOS has had to consider restructuring its own.
'Consideration is therefore being given to ending production at the BOS Automotive Products facility in Wrexham.
'It is with great regret that having had a dedicated, enthusiastic and loyal workforce here in Wrexham for the last 10 years, that it is necessary to consider this course of action.
'BOS Automotive Products still perceives the UK's major Own Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) as an important market sector and will, in any event, be maintaining an engineering centre within the Wrexham area.
'This should secure a future for the skilled and dedicated staff who will continue to work in areas such as design, development, customer support and engineering.'
Plaid Cymru Assembly Member for North Wales Janet Ryder called upon the Assembly's economic development minister Andrew Davies to offer assistance to the company in order to avoid closure and to make a greater attempt to stem the flow of manufacturing jobs out of the region.
'This is extremely disappointing news for the workforce and for Wrexham and I sincerely hope that the company can find a way to avoid closure of the factory and the loss of yet more manufacturing jobs in North East Wales,' she said.
'Scarcely a month seems to go by these days without similar announcements of job losses in the manufacturing sector in this area. Thousands of well-paid quality jobs have gone in recent years but it seems that they are not being replaced by jobs of equal value.
'How many more thousands of well-paid jobs have to be lost before the Assembly Government in Cardiff takes notice?'
