WORKERS have been made redundant and more than 40 are at risk of losing their jobs as a major Weymouth employer closes two of its plants.

Universal Engineering (UE) announced it will shut its Kent Close and Cumberland Drive sites, meaning 44 jobs are at risk.

In addition, 28 workers who were put at risk of redundancy in November have now lost their jobs, it was confirmed yesterday.

The news comes after the company failed to secure contracts for work or contracts ceased.

A statement reads: "Despite making every effort to secure new business, at the end of the day the economic conditions in the defence sector meant this wasn’t possible.

The company can no longer continue to sustain the losses it is making and has reluctantly come to the decision to commence consultation."


Of the 28 redundancies confirmed, it says: "The company kept them [the workers] on longer than expected as it won a couple of small contracts which have also come to an end and there is no sight of future contracts.’


It is proposed that the majority of staff will have left by July.
Henry Game, CEO of UE parent company Bland Group, said it was a "sad day" for the company and extended his sympathies to the workers affected.


He said: "Without reservation, the company will seek to redeploy staff to other branches as much as possible."
Speaking to the Echo, he said: “It is sad and distressing for the workforce. It’s a sad day for everyone involved. Unfortunately the reality is that we haven’t secured the work needed. Some of our contracts are coming to an end and have not been renewed.

“A number of customers, due to the economic pressures, have not renewed or extended their contracts.
“Programmes have been suspended- it’s not that we have lost them, its that the clients haven’t got the work to place with us.”

UE used to have six sites around Weymouth and Portland but will soon have only one.

The latest news is one in a line of announcements which have caused anxiety for its workforce.

In 2011, the company – which is well known for its work in the defence sector – was set to acquire around £5m from the government and said it would create hundreds of jobs. However, the Echo learned the promise of a grant ‘never came to fruition’ and as a result no new roles were created.

Of the latest announcement, Michelle Hind, president of the Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is a sad loss and it’s not what Weymouth’s economy needs at the moment."

“It’s a setback but we’ve got to hope, with new investment coming in, that those workers will be able to find jobs as quickly as possible.

“The Chamber of Commerce will support them in any way we can. We are disappointed and we fully empathise with those losing their jobs and if there’s anything we can do to support them, we will.”