Foden seeks cuts for all-week work
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SANDBACH ENGINEERING returned to a five-day week on Monday this week, but intends to make 99 of its workers redundant, bringing the workforce down to around 500.
This streamlining is reflected by another change at the Foden assembly works — the switchboard now answers as "Foden Trucks". Managing director Hank Keifer said: "We are not changing the company's name, the official name is still Sandbach Engineering. But we are focusing more on the prime Foden product and de-emphasising the corporate name."
Much of the Cheshire plant has been operating for between three and four-and-a-half days a week since February. Mr Keifer said: "We have found that working short weeks is no longer very practicable."
He said that the company's order book — between 50 and 60 Fodens a month — had not changed, but that manufacturing a complex custom-built product needs staff with specialist skills at the plant for five days a week.
An industry source said he believed Foden Trucks is doing well. Others had made cutbacks earlier; Foden had delayed the blow.
Sandbach, a Paccar Group company, took on around 350 workers when it bought the assets of Fodens from the receiver in October 1980. According to Mr Keifer, it sources around 85 to 95 per cent of its components in Britain.
Sandbach still assembles Transcontinental tractive units for Ford (it has done since Ford closed its Amsterdam factory in 1981) and it has some contracts for the Ministry of Defence.
Mr Keifer said that negotiations are continuing with unions over the restructuring of the company. Works convenor Bill Jinks is still hoping that most redundancies will be averted and that short-time working will be continued for at least six months, in the hope that there will be an upturn in the market.