Plaid Cymru Statement on Calsonic Redundancies

Plaid Cymru Llanelli have expressed serious concern following the announcement of 48 redundancies at the Calsonic Kansei plant based in Llethri Road .

Llanelli Town Mayor and Bigyn Town Councillor Mike Burns said:

“This is devastating and disappointing news for the whole Town and my thoughts are with each of the workers and their families affected as a result of these redundancies. Every effort must now be undertaken in order to minimise the effects of these job losses at Calsonic. When Plaid were in Government, our former Llanelli AM Helen Mary Jones and Economic Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones actually brought forward a scheme called ‘ProAct’ which enabled Calsonic to safeguard jobs that were previously under threat. It also provided additional training opportunities for employees since limited and out of date skills diminish a workers job prospects.

Therefore I would now urge the current Welsh Labour Government especially Edwina Hart, Minister responsible for Business, Economy and Transport to act quickly and bring forward a package similar to ‘ProAct’ in order to safeguard jobs at Calsonic. A successful future for the company is vital for the prosperity of our Town.”

Plaid Rural Councillor for Hengoed Ward Martin Davies added:

“There is no doubt that Calsonic has played a key role on a local and national basis in promoting and enhancing our automotive and manufacturing industries. Only by having a strong and growing manufacturing sector can we rebuild confidence in our weak and fragile economy. Governments must now use every resource available to them as a matter of urgency in order to invest in job growth opportunities and put an increased focus on prioritising and protecting existing jobs locally.”