Type
Closure
Country
United Kingdom
Region
North East; Northumberland and Tyne and Wear;
Location of affected unit(s)
Birtley in Gateshead
Sector
Manufacturing
Manufacture Of Computer, Electrical Electronic And Optical Products
Manufacture Of Electrical Equipment
27.32 - Manufacture of other electronic and electric wires and cables

200 - 240 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
9 September 2016
Employment effect (start)
7 September 2016
Foreseen end date
28 February 2017

Description

UK cable manufacturer, AEI Cables has announced that more than 200 jobs are at risk at its factory located in Birtley in Country Durham. A 45-day formal consultation period on redundancies will start on September 14, 2016. A buyer is being sought however the factory might be closed altogether which would see all of the 240 staff being made redundant. In operation for 175 years, AEI Cables has been losing money for a number of years and only been able to continue operating because of financing from its parent company. The factory was purchased out of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) two years ago by the Dubai-based Ducab Group when volatile copper prices and competition from cheaper imports resulted in more than 100 workers at AEI Cable being made redundant.

Updated, 03/01/2017; Following unsuccessful attempts to find a buyer for AEI Cables, parent company Ducab Group has decided to close the manufacturing base. 200 staff will be made redundant in the first week of January 2017, with another 40 staff to go by the beginning of March 2017. As happened with the previous owners, Duncab Group has chosen to enter a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) and redundancies will not be paid to staff. Staff may apply to the Government's Statutory Redundancy Pay Scheme. 


Sources

  • 9 September 2016: BBC News
  • 9 September 2016: The Chronicle
  • 9 September 2016: ITV News
  • 3 January 2017: The Chronicle

Citation

Eurofound (2016), AEI Cables, Closure in United Kingdom, factsheet number 88503, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/88503.