"TVR closes Blackpool factory
By Alan Jones, PA
Published: 24 April 2006
The country's biggest independent sports car maker is to close its Blackpool factory.
TVR stunned union officials by disclosing that the plant will cease production in six months' time. But a spokesman for TVR said the company intended to simply switch production to another site later this year.
Half the firm's 260 staff had already been told to stay home from today after production plunged from 12 cars a week to just two.
The Transport and General Workers Union said it was told that the company would keep a presence in the UK but would be relocating production.
Andy Robertson of the TGWR said: "We are totally and utterly devastated by this dramatic news which has stunned the workforce."
The union will hold a mass meeting of the workers next week to decide its next move.
TVR was bought two years ago by Russian millionaire Nikolay Smolensky.
The firm was founded in 1947 and its vehicles have long been popular with sports car enthusiasts.
A spokesman for TVR took issue with the union's view of a meeting held between the two sides today and said he hoped TVR would become stronger by the end of the year.
He said: "We are not closing, we are just moving production."
The spokesman said the firm was looking for a smaller site with better facilities and said the only redundancies confirmed involved 71 temporary lay-offs although the spokesman could give no guarantees about future job numbers."
Modified by CBJ at 12:43 PM 4-24-2006
By Alan Jones, PA
Published: 24 April 2006
The country's biggest independent sports car maker is to close its Blackpool factory.
TVR stunned union officials by disclosing that the plant will cease production in six months' time. But a spokesman for TVR said the company intended to simply switch production to another site later this year.
Half the firm's 260 staff had already been told to stay home from today after production plunged from 12 cars a week to just two.
The Transport and General Workers Union said it was told that the company would keep a presence in the UK but would be relocating production.
Andy Robertson of the TGWR said: "We are totally and utterly devastated by this dramatic news which has stunned the workforce."
The union will hold a mass meeting of the workers next week to decide its next move.
TVR was bought two years ago by Russian millionaire Nikolay Smolensky.
The firm was founded in 1947 and its vehicles have long been popular with sports car enthusiasts.
A spokesman for TVR took issue with the union's view of a meeting held between the two sides today and said he hoped TVR would become stronger by the end of the year.
He said: "We are not closing, we are just moving production."
The spokesman said the firm was looking for a smaller site with better facilities and said the only redundancies confirmed involved 71 temporary lay-offs although the spokesman could give no guarantees about future job numbers."
Modified by CBJ at 12:43 PM 4-24-2006
