More jobs go at Toleman
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• Further cuts have been announced at troubled car transporter Toleman Automotive which is axeing 150 out of 680 delivery jobs as new car sales continue to slide.
Most of the redundancies are at Halewood on Merseyside where Ford is extending its three-day week until the end of the year, producing 1,000 fewer vehicles a day. The Transport and General Workers Union says it is prepared to defend the 98 jobs.
The other cuts are at Toleman distribution centres in Southampton, Dagenham and Hartlepool. Earlier this year 30 drivers lost their jobs when Toleman closed depots in Nuneaton and Bristol (CM 23-29 May).
Toleman's managing director David Wilcock says: "The recession is proving much worse than anticipated — it is with great
regret I have been forced to take these actions to ensure our long-term survival."
The TGWU says the proposed job cuts at Halewood are "totally unacceptable" as they would reduce the 170-strong workforce by half. Regional road transport officer Jim Goutdbourne says the union has asked Toleman for more time to consider alternatives to job losses. "We believe the downturn in the car market is short term," he says, "and Toleman will need the drivers when the work comes back — however, we are prepared to consider voluntary redundancies and early retirement." The union says it will ballot for industrial action if an agreement cannot be reached.
The Toleman announcement follows a decision by rival transporter company Silcock Express to cut 50 jobs at Liverpool — the equivalent of one third of its local workforce.