Union 'not as concerned' for St Athan factory as Aston Martin plans to cut 500 jobs
A Union says it is "not as concerned" about the Aston Martin factory in St Athan, in the Vale of Glamorgan, after the luxury car manufacturer announced plans to cut up to 500 jobs across its UK operation.
The troubled company has said it will launch consultations on the job losses, which have been driven by lower-than-planned production volumes and improved productivity.
Aston Martin said the restructuring is expected to cost around £12 million.
Whilst Aston Martin has not confirmed where the job losses might be it did tell investors on Thursday that its first SUV car, the DBX - which is built at their St Athan site - is on track for deliveries this summer and has a "strong order book".
Unite Wales said that while the announcement might cause "significant concerns" for works at the St Athan site, they are "not as concerned" because it is not yet at full capacity or in full production.
The UK manufacturer, famous for making James Bond's car of choice, will "right-size the organisational structure" amid lower demand for sports cars, in a bid to improve profitability.
It comes after a testing year for the manufacturer, as it was blighted with numerous profit warnings.
Last week, the company's chief executive, Dr Andy Palmer, announced he was leaving the manufacturer after a collapse in its share price.
Dr Palmer, who has led Aston Martin since 2014, is to be replaced as chief executive by Tobias Moers, who currently runs Mercedes-AMG, which is the German manufacturer's high-performance division.
The number of vehicles sold by Aston Martin almost halved in the first three months of the year, as it was hit by the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.
This caused loss before tax to soar to £118.9 million, up from £17.3 million the year before.