Talks over 'devastating' Brexit closure of Plymouth factory that's moving abroad

Plymouth City Council leader Tudor Evans has pledged to fight the planned closure of the Barden ball-bearing factory which will result in the loss of 365 jobs.

He is seeking a meeting with the company’s German owner Schaeffler in an attempt to reverse the decision, partly blamed on the uncertainty around Brexit.

Barden has been in Plymouth for more than 50 years and operates from a plant at Estover, producing precision bearings for cars, aircraft, the nuclear industry, missiles and satellites.

But its German owner has announced a major restructuring which will see it close its bases in Plymouth and Llanelli in Wales, merge logistics centres and keep a factory in Sheffield. Production from Plymouth would be switched to factories in Germany and around the world.

The company said: “The uncertainty surrounding Brexit was one factor amongst others in the analysis of the UK market.”

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Cllr Evans, leader of the ruling Labour group on the city council, told members of the Cabinet on Tuesday via a video message that the closure would be a tragedy for Plymouth, the workers and their families, and for the UK which would lost a high-tech factory.

He said he had met managing director Jon Everett and added: "It is devastating for staff because the plant had been performing so strongly. So I think there is an opportunity and a need for us to fight this, as a council and as a city."

Cllr Evans said he was seeking a meeting with the owners, and would go to Germany to talk to them.

Plymouth's Brexit fears

He said: "We have resolved to fight for this plant," and added: “We need to meet them face to face to put our case for retaining this fine plant for the city and the country.”

Cllr Evans said he would be talking to the Government along with the city’s MPs to find out what help could be provided.

The closure announcement came a year after the business said it was going to invest more than £15m in Plymouth to safeguard the factory for another 50 years and create jobs.

Growth... the Barden Corporation — The Barden factory is set to close down (Image: Penny Cross)

Juergen Ziegler, Regional chief executive Europe, said: “A global business needs to regularly review market conditions and strive to optimise its footprint across different regions.

“The proposed measures we have taken for the UK reflect this business reality.

“However, we remain committed to keeping certain activities in the UK, a country that will continue to be important to us.”

He added: “The changes to our UK footprint are designed to make us more efficient by relocating parts of our production closer to where our products are used.

“What we are planning for the UK delivers on our Agenda 4 plus One programme.

“Brexit is clearly not the single decisive factor behind our decision-making for the UK market, but the need to plan for various complex scenarios has brought forward the timing.”

The business said only 15 percent of the goods Schaeffler produces in the UK remain in the country with most exported to continental Europe. So it was proposing to shift production from Plymouth to plants in the USA, China, South Korea and Germany.

Managing director... Jon Everett of Barden Corporation — Managing director Jon Everett has met with Tudor Evans (Image: Penny Cross)

Labour MP for Sutton and Devonport Luke Pollard said: “This is a wake-up call for the city. Brexit risks jobs. If our companies have no certainty they can sell into the Single Market they will relocate.”

But Tory MP for Moor View Johnny Mercer said the decision to shut the Estover factory and send the work abroad was a “short-sighted mistake” by Barden’s German owner.

Mr Mercer, whose Moor View constituency contains the Barden plant, said the closure was a “terrible shock” and that an international company leaving Plymouth “citing Brexit” left “some brilliant workers affected by geo-political pressures”.

He called it: “A short-sighted mistake from Schaeffler in my view.”