A leading supplier of aerospace components is to close down its lines on Christmas Eve and won’t be restarting them in January – 450 people will lose their jobs.
CommaTECH Holdings is closing down after administrators KPMG could not find a buyer for the troubled firm. Its five sites across Hertfordshire, Warwickshire, Leicester and Northampton are all closing down.
A technician from the plant told the Leicester Mercury: “We’ve been told that they couldn’t find a buyer so they’ll close on Christmas Eve.
“It’s sad and many people are worried about whether they’ll be able to find jobs – there’s not much work about at the moment.”
The company is said to have experiemce an insurmountable shortfall in orders this year which has been exacerbated by a cautious approach to future commissions from its main client, Rolls-Royce.
Myles Halley, administrator at KPMG, said: “It’s very sad. We have been trying since October to find a buyer, but without having Rolls-Royce able to guarantee orders, it was difficult to sell the business.”
The latest official unemployment figures are due on Wednesday but were preceded by an unpromising prediction by Barclays boss John Varley today. He said he thinks unemployment will reach seven-and-a-half per cent by the end of next year with as many as two million out of work.
CommaTECH were unavailable for further comment.
