Nearly 600 more automotive jobs were lost yesterday when a UK subsidiary of American components manufacturer Visteon was put into administration.
Administrator KPMG said it was making an initial 565 staff redundant out of a total workforce of 600 in the operation, with the remaining employees being kept on to help wind the business down.
Visteon UK has three manufacturing plants, in Basildon, Belfast and Enfield. But the group, which has its headquarters in Michigan and which was formerly part of Ford, said its other UK operations were not in administration and were continuing to operate normally.
These are operated by a separate subsidiary called Visteon Engineering Services and include customer service and technical centres at Coventry and Basildon which employ some 400 people in total.
Visteon said the decision to place the UK arm in administration was made after its “substantial losses” left it with no other option. The division has struggled since Visteon was separated from Ford in 2000. It reported losses totalling £669?million in the years after the split.
Donald Stebbins, chairman and chief executive of parent company Visteon, said: “Despite extensive restructuring efforts, the UK plants have continued to incur substantial losses. Regrettably, having exhausted all options, the Visteon UK Ltd board of directors had no alternative but to file for administration.”
Mr Stebbins added: “Addressing the unfavourable financial performance of our UK manufacturing operations is an important step in positioning the company for future success. Visteon maintains strong engineering, development and services capabilities in the UK, and continues to serve global vehicle manufacturers through our broad manufacturing and engineering resources throughout Europe.”
KPMG said Visteon was being subsidised by the US parent group, which is the biggest creditor of the collapsed firm and is owed more than £400?million.
Visteon UK employed 173 staff at the Basildon plant, 227 in Enfield and 210 Belfast.
