Kongsberg Automotive is to move its interior systems production from the UK to Poland with the loss of 138 British jobs.
The Norwegian supplier says some 38 positions will remain at its UK Midlands plant at Burton, mainly in sales, administration, marketing and human resources, while 138 employees will be made redundant.
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“It is cost driven – you can almost [add] a trend within the business – that trend is also affecting us,” a Kongsberg Automotive spokesman told just-auto.
“Unfortunately, for our British employees, but that is the way to compete and deliver the cost that the customer and end user will benefit [from]. When we started to investigate the possibility to stay, the conclusion was we decided to move most of the production to Poland.”
Negotiations with Kongsberg’s UK staff began in January this year, with a final move date to the Pruszkow site in Poland slated for the end of October.
The Burton plant produces seat components.
