Redundancies at Milliken
One of Wigan's best known manufacturers is the latest victim of the credit crunch.
American carpet tile manufacturers Milliken Industrials of Beech Hill is making a dozen staff redundant – said to be a third of its production workforce.
A quarter of these staff are thought to have chosen to use the firm's appeals procedure to fight the decision.
It has two other plants in the North West and revived the cavernous former Tupperware plastics/ROF fact in Gidlow Lane almost a quarter of a century ago.
One of the axed employees, who did not wish to be named because he was still in talks over his redundancy terms, said that staff had been "resigned" to hearing of sackings since the New Year.
He said that work at the plant had become "very patchy." And he had now been told that the three shifts were going to be put on a four-day week from next month.
He said: "Most of the men going are family men with children and mortgages who have been there since the placed opened more than 20 years ago and we can do without this at this time
"It is sad, yes, but nobody is very surprised. They have been asking for volunteers who were willing to go up to their sister plants in Middleton and Bury, which I suppose was a way of trying to avoid having to let people go.
"It is a quality product that we do here, for offices and the receptions of firms, where they want to make an impression by having carpet tiles with names and logos in them.
"And I suppose that in the credit crunch, this is going to be one of the first things that firms are going to put a red pen though when they are wanting to save money."
Milliken, which does not recognise trade unions, declined to comment.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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