More than a third of the workforce are losing their jobs at the injection moulding plant of Siemens Automotive Systems (Halesfield 25, GB-Telford TF7 4LP) due to a series of call-off reductions and contract cancellations for vehicles, assembled by European suppliers, that are nearing the end of their production life. A total of 100 employees out of a total workforce of 286 will be leaving the company by the end of the year.

A statement issued by Siemens said the company had experienced a significant fall in sales over budget and a substantial decline in business volume. This had forced a restructuring of operations in order to sustain the current viability of the business and secure its long-term future.

The ISO 9000-rated plant, which specialises in under-hood automotive components such as air manifolds and integrated air module systems for car manufacturers in both Europe and North America, has been the subject of more than GBP 6m of investment, including, most recently, a new GBP lm technical centre. First operated by BTR, the factory became a Siemens/Ford joint venture in 1994 before moving into Siemens´ sole ownership in 1997.

The drop in production volume is only expected to be a relatively short-term decline as the company says new orders are being won, but these will not move into their production phase for several years. Last year the Siemens Automotive Systems business in the UK, which designs, models, tests and manufactures a full range of induction modules and components, turned over GBP 26.5m.