Nia Griffith MP and Lee Waters AM comment on Schaeffler Llanelli

Nia Griffith MP and Lee Waters AM have urged Ministers in the UK and Welsh Governments to take action to persuade Shaeffler to retain its plant in Llanelli and the 220 jobs it provides. This follows the announcement by Schaeffler Automotive that they have opened consultation with employees on plans to close their Llanelli plant over the next two years.

Llanelli Assembly Member Lee Waters has submitted a question in the National Assembly for Wales and opened dialogue with First Minister Carwyn Jones and Ken Skates AM, Cabinet Secretary for the Economy in the Welsh Government to determine what can be done to protect jobs in Llanelli.  Nia Griffith, MP for Llanelli, has written to Greg Clark, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in the UK Government, urging him to meet with Schaeffler as soon as possible and do everything he can to persuade them to keep the Llanelli plant open.

Nia Griffith MP said: “I am extremely concerned to hear that Schaeffler are planning to close their plant in Llanelli, which has been a well-established part of our community for over 60 years.

“This would mean the loss of over 200 jobs in and around Llanelli, many of which are highly-skilled, and would be a big loss for our community and local manufacturing. Lee Waters and I will do everything we can to persuade Schaeffler to keep the local plant open, and I have already written to the UK Government urging them to do the same.

“Schaeffler exports the vast majority of its UK made products to continental Europe and has cited ‘uncertainty surrounding Brexit’ as one of the factors in its decision to close the Llanelli plant. This is a damning indictment of the UK Government’s mishandling of the Brexit negotiations, as after two and a half years they still do not have a plan that gives manufacturing companies the certainty they need.”

Lee Waters AM said: “The announcement by Schaeffler is very troubling. These are high quality skilled jobs and their loss is a real blow to Llanelli. I’ve been in touch with the company and the Welsh Government to see what can be done to try and save the factory.

“It is worrying that the company mentioned “uncertainty surrounding Brexit” as one factor behind the decision to leave Wales. We’ve been warning for over two years that our future access to the single market needs to be secured, but the failure of the UK Government to agree a deal has created huge uncertainty for businesses which has clearly been a big factor in 220 jobs in Llanelli being under threat” he added.

Lee Waters added “Nia and I will work together to ensure that the UK and Welsh Government act in partnership to find a solution that works for the employees at Schaeffler and secures jobs for the long term.”

“We all need to pull together to ensure we can secure a future for the plant and the jobs it provides, and bring about the best possible outcome in the ongoing consultation process.”

Llanelli’s MP and AM will be using all their resources to find a way forward and, in addition to lobbying the UK and Welsh Governments, will be opening discussions with the management at Schaeffler, employees and trade unions. Schaeffler are consulting with employees on their plans over the next 45 days, and both Lee Waters and Nia Griffith are offering their support to employees during this difficult period.