Lotus job losses
Discussion
Cross-posted from Exiges.com - hadn't seen it mentioned here yet.
http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/s
http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/s
200 jobs go at Lotus car factory
CHRIS STARKIE, EDP BUSINESS EDITOR
20 September 2006 17:44
Norfolk's economy has been dealt another blow as car manufacturer Group Lotus announced 200 job losses.
Workers at the Hethel plant were told the news on Wednesday afternoon, which is being blamed on falling sales in the United States.
It comes less than a week after Norwich Union announced 850 redundancies in Norwich and printing firm NJP closed with the loss of 286 jobs.
Group Lotus said it needed to cut its manufacturing workforce because of a slowdown in the US - the company's biggest market.
The car-maker also revealed its new flagship super-car which will replace the Esprit will be delayed by more than a year and will now be unveiled in December 2009.
But the company has announced plans for two other new models, a mid-range four-seater Lotus, which will be launched in December 2008 and a high performance variant of a Proton car which is due to be unveiled in May 2008.
There are about 1,200 people employed at the Hethel site, which is one of the jewels in the crown of Norfolk manufacturing. Lotus said it hoped as many of the job losses would be through voluntary redundancy.
Mike Kimberley, Group Lotus chief executive, said he regretted the job losses but the company was producing more cars than it could sell.
He said: “I am very pleased to have secured board approval for a very aggressive five year strategic business plan, the first such plan that this company has had in the last six years.
“We have some opportunities ahead of us and some already underway but we have to tighten our belts in the short term as we drive to stimulate sales in the depressed US market.
“While we regret any job losses, it is essential we respond fast to market conditions while we drive forward this exciting plan.â€
The jobs losses are the latest scaling back at Group Lotus which was bought by Malaysian car firm Proton 10 years ago. In November 2004 Lotus cut 350 jobs in its engineering business. That followed the loss of 95 jobs in 2003 and 300 in 2002.
Proton managing director Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the decisions made by Group Lotus management were critical to achieve Lotus' objectives in a fast-changing market condition.
He said: “We strongly believe that Lotus has an important role to play to enable us to become a successful automotive engineering and marketing entity and a prominent brand globally.â€
Tim Byles, chief executive of Norfolk County Council, said: "We should not let disappointment at the short-term job losses obscure what is a remarkable commitment to the future of Lotus in Norfolk by the parent company, Proton.
The five-year plan, and the investment in Norfolk that it will bring, promises to secure the future of Lotus at Hethel, and to create many more jobs as the three new models move through development into production.
"The Hethel Engineering centre is ideally placed to support Lotus as it looks to make the most of the opportunities now opening up for the company.
"Having said that, the short-term loss of more jobs in Norfolk is of course disappointing, and the County Council will be exploring ways in which the 'Responding 2 Redundancy' programme can help Lotus staff being made redundant. It is important to emphasise that these job losses are a direct result of the very difficult conditions for car manufacturers in the USA, and are not a reflection upon the company itself, where the future is very much brighter.
"There is also grounds for optimism in other areas of the engineering sector in Norfolk, where demand for skilled staff is likely to remain strong."
South Norfolk Council leader Vivienne Clifford-Jackson said: “We are deeply concerned at the news of the job losses, especially coming less than a week after the job losses announced by Norwich Union.
“We will do everything we can within our powers to help and offer advice to Lotus. This announcement demonstrates once again the fragility of global economic markets and the real need for developing local initiatives like the Hethel Engineering Centre.
“The strong support we have given to businesses in South Norfolk has helped in part to soften the inevitable blows of these problems.â€
CHRIS STARKIE, EDP BUSINESS EDITOR
20 September 2006 17:44
Norfolk's economy has been dealt another blow as car manufacturer Group Lotus announced 200 job losses.
Workers at the Hethel plant were told the news on Wednesday afternoon, which is being blamed on falling sales in the United States.
It comes less than a week after Norwich Union announced 850 redundancies in Norwich and printing firm NJP closed with the loss of 286 jobs.
Group Lotus said it needed to cut its manufacturing workforce because of a slowdown in the US - the company's biggest market.
The car-maker also revealed its new flagship super-car which will replace the Esprit will be delayed by more than a year and will now be unveiled in December 2009.
But the company has announced plans for two other new models, a mid-range four-seater Lotus, which will be launched in December 2008 and a high performance variant of a Proton car which is due to be unveiled in May 2008.
There are about 1,200 people employed at the Hethel site, which is one of the jewels in the crown of Norfolk manufacturing. Lotus said it hoped as many of the job losses would be through voluntary redundancy.
Mike Kimberley, Group Lotus chief executive, said he regretted the job losses but the company was producing more cars than it could sell.
He said: “I am very pleased to have secured board approval for a very aggressive five year strategic business plan, the first such plan that this company has had in the last six years.
“We have some opportunities ahead of us and some already underway but we have to tighten our belts in the short term as we drive to stimulate sales in the depressed US market.
“While we regret any job losses, it is essential we respond fast to market conditions while we drive forward this exciting plan.â€
The jobs losses are the latest scaling back at Group Lotus which was bought by Malaysian car firm Proton 10 years ago. In November 2004 Lotus cut 350 jobs in its engineering business. That followed the loss of 95 jobs in 2003 and 300 in 2002.
Proton managing director Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the decisions made by Group Lotus management were critical to achieve Lotus' objectives in a fast-changing market condition.
He said: “We strongly believe that Lotus has an important role to play to enable us to become a successful automotive engineering and marketing entity and a prominent brand globally.â€
Tim Byles, chief executive of Norfolk County Council, said: "We should not let disappointment at the short-term job losses obscure what is a remarkable commitment to the future of Lotus in Norfolk by the parent company, Proton.
The five-year plan, and the investment in Norfolk that it will bring, promises to secure the future of Lotus at Hethel, and to create many more jobs as the three new models move through development into production.
"The Hethel Engineering centre is ideally placed to support Lotus as it looks to make the most of the opportunities now opening up for the company.
"Having said that, the short-term loss of more jobs in Norfolk is of course disappointing, and the County Council will be exploring ways in which the 'Responding 2 Redundancy' programme can help Lotus staff being made redundant. It is important to emphasise that these job losses are a direct result of the very difficult conditions for car manufacturers in the USA, and are not a reflection upon the company itself, where the future is very much brighter.
"There is also grounds for optimism in other areas of the engineering sector in Norfolk, where demand for skilled staff is likely to remain strong."
South Norfolk Council leader Vivienne Clifford-Jackson said: “We are deeply concerned at the news of the job losses, especially coming less than a week after the job losses announced by Norwich Union.
“We will do everything we can within our powers to help and offer advice to Lotus. This announcement demonstrates once again the fragility of global economic markets and the real need for developing local initiatives like the Hethel Engineering Centre.
“The strong support we have given to businesses in South Norfolk has helped in part to soften the inevitable blows of these problems.â€
200 jobs go at Lotus car factory
CHRIS STARKIE, EDP BUSINESS EDITOR
20 September 2006 17:44
Norfolk's economy has been dealt another blow as car manufacturer Group Lotus announced 200 job losses.
Workers at the Hethel plant were told the news on Wednesday afternoon, which is being blamed on falling sales in the United States.
It comes less than a week after Norwich Union announced 850 redundancies in Norwich and printing firm NJP closed with the loss of 286 jobs.
Group Lotus said it needed to cut its manufacturing workforce because of a slowdown in the US - the company's biggest market.
The car-maker also revealed its new flagship super-car which will replace the Esprit will be delayed by more than a year and will now be unveiled in December 2009.
But the company has announced plans for two other new models, a mid-range four-seater Lotus, which will be launched in December 2008 and a high performance variant of a Proton car which is due to be unveiled in May 2008.
There are about 1,200 people employed at the Hethel site, which is one of the jewels in the crown of Norfolk manufacturing. Lotus said it hoped as many of the job losses would be through voluntary redundancy.
Mike Kimberley, Group Lotus chief executive, said he regretted the job losses but the company was producing more cars than it could sell.
He said: “I am very pleased to have secured board approval for a very aggressive five year strategic business plan, the first such plan that this company has had in the last six years.
“We have some opportunities ahead of us and some already underway but we have to tighten our belts in the short term as we drive to stimulate sales in the depressed US market.
“While we regret any job losses, it is essential we respond fast to market conditions while we drive forward this exciting plan.â€
The jobs losses are the latest scaling back at Group Lotus which was bought by Malaysian car firm Proton 10 years ago. In November 2004 Lotus cut 350 jobs in its engineering business. That followed the loss of 95 jobs in 2003 and 300 in 2002.
Proton managing director Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the decisions made by Group Lotus management were critical to achieve Lotus' objectives in a fast-changing market condition.
He said: “We strongly believe that Lotus has an important role to play to enable us to become a successful automotive engineering and marketing entity and a prominent brand globally.â€
Tim Byles, chief executive of Norfolk County Council, said: "We should not let disappointment at the short-term job losses obscure what is a remarkable commitment to the future of Lotus in Norfolk by the parent company, Proton.
The five-year plan, and the investment in Norfolk that it will bring, promises to secure the future of Lotus at Hethel, and to create many more jobs as the three new models move through development into production.
"The Hethel Engineering centre is ideally placed to support Lotus as it looks to make the most of the opportunities now opening up for the company.
"Having said that, the short-term loss of more jobs in Norfolk is of course disappointing, and the County Council will be exploring ways in which the 'Responding 2 Redundancy' programme can help Lotus staff being made redundant. It is important to emphasise that these job losses are a direct result of the very difficult conditions for car manufacturers in the USA, and are not a reflection upon the company itself, where the future is very much brighter.
"There is also grounds for optimism in other areas of the engineering sector in Norfolk, where demand for skilled staff is likely to remain strong."
South Norfolk Council leader Vivienne Clifford-Jackson said: “We are deeply concerned at the news of the job losses, especially coming less than a week after the job losses announced by Norwich Union.
“We will do everything we can within our powers to help and offer advice to Lotus. This announcement demonstrates once again the fragility of global economic markets and the real need for developing local initiatives like the Hethel Engineering Centre.
“The strong support we have given to businesses in South Norfolk has helped in part to soften the inevitable blows of these problems.â€
CHRIS STARKIE, EDP BUSINESS EDITOR
20 September 2006 17:44
Norfolk's economy has been dealt another blow as car manufacturer Group Lotus announced 200 job losses.
Workers at the Hethel plant were told the news on Wednesday afternoon, which is being blamed on falling sales in the United States.
It comes less than a week after Norwich Union announced 850 redundancies in Norwich and printing firm NJP closed with the loss of 286 jobs.
Group Lotus said it needed to cut its manufacturing workforce because of a slowdown in the US - the company's biggest market.
The car-maker also revealed its new flagship super-car which will replace the Esprit will be delayed by more than a year and will now be unveiled in December 2009.
But the company has announced plans for two other new models, a mid-range four-seater Lotus, which will be launched in December 2008 and a high performance variant of a Proton car which is due to be unveiled in May 2008.
There are about 1,200 people employed at the Hethel site, which is one of the jewels in the crown of Norfolk manufacturing. Lotus said it hoped as many of the job losses would be through voluntary redundancy.
Mike Kimberley, Group Lotus chief executive, said he regretted the job losses but the company was producing more cars than it could sell.
He said: “I am very pleased to have secured board approval for a very aggressive five year strategic business plan, the first such plan that this company has had in the last six years.
“We have some opportunities ahead of us and some already underway but we have to tighten our belts in the short term as we drive to stimulate sales in the depressed US market.
“While we regret any job losses, it is essential we respond fast to market conditions while we drive forward this exciting plan.â€
The jobs losses are the latest scaling back at Group Lotus which was bought by Malaysian car firm Proton 10 years ago. In November 2004 Lotus cut 350 jobs in its engineering business. That followed the loss of 95 jobs in 2003 and 300 in 2002.
Proton managing director Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the decisions made by Group Lotus management were critical to achieve Lotus' objectives in a fast-changing market condition.
He said: “We strongly believe that Lotus has an important role to play to enable us to become a successful automotive engineering and marketing entity and a prominent brand globally.â€
Tim Byles, chief executive of Norfolk County Council, said: "We should not let disappointment at the short-term job losses obscure what is a remarkable commitment to the future of Lotus in Norfolk by the parent company, Proton.
The five-year plan, and the investment in Norfolk that it will bring, promises to secure the future of Lotus at Hethel, and to create many more jobs as the three new models move through development into production.
"The Hethel Engineering centre is ideally placed to support Lotus as it looks to make the most of the opportunities now opening up for the company.
"Having said that, the short-term loss of more jobs in Norfolk is of course disappointing, and the County Council will be exploring ways in which the 'Responding 2 Redundancy' programme can help Lotus staff being made redundant. It is important to emphasise that these job losses are a direct result of the very difficult conditions for car manufacturers in the USA, and are not a reflection upon the company itself, where the future is very much brighter.
"There is also grounds for optimism in other areas of the engineering sector in Norfolk, where demand for skilled staff is likely to remain strong."
South Norfolk Council leader Vivienne Clifford-Jackson said: “We are deeply concerned at the news of the job losses, especially coming less than a week after the job losses announced by Norwich Union.
“We will do everything we can within our powers to help and offer advice to Lotus. This announcement demonstrates once again the fragility of global economic markets and the real need for developing local initiatives like the Hethel Engineering Centre.
“The strong support we have given to businesses in South Norfolk has helped in part to soften the inevitable blows of these problems.â€
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