Glen Dimplex announces proposals which would close Whiston factory

Operations at the Stoney Lane factory will cease under proposals put forward by the company.

Glen Dimplex says it plans to relocate production following a “comprehensive review” was carried out to ensure a “sustainable future” for the business.

The firm says it has proposed “significant changes to our UK business operations”. If the proposals go ahead, production at the Whiston site will cease and the factory will close.  

Staff at the factory have been informed of the plans to close the facility.

'A difficult announcement'

A spokesperson for Glen Dimplex Home Appliances said: “We have had to make a difficult announcement to our staff and key stakeholders about our Prescot plant.

“Our proposals to relocate production come after a comprehensive review and are aimed at ensuring a sustainable future for the business.

“We have always treated our role as custodians of the Belling, Stoves and Lec Medical brands with the utmost respect – between them they have almost three centuries of heritage and our role is to ensure their continuation.

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“Currently, that is not something we can guarantee without making significant changes to our UK business operations, and we are aware of the significant impact this could have on our colleagues.

“To address this, we have completed a strategic review and are proposing to make changes to operations and organisational structure.

“This includes a proposal to relocate all production to leading international partners to leverage economies of scale and access latest technologies. 

“If the proposals proceed, production at our Prescot manufacturing facility would cease, leading to the eventual closure of the site.”

'Redundancies across affected functions'

Glen Dimplex acknowledged the changes may “lead to redundancies across affected functions”.

The spokesperson added: “We intend to retain a strong, UK-based engineering and design capability to work with our partners to introduce a new range of innovative, high-quality products.

“As well as being our manufacturing base for Lec Medical refrigeration products and Belling and Stoves cooking appliances, on-site departments at Prescot include payroll, supply chain, technical, administrative and support staff. 

“As part of our strategy to lead the UK market we also plan to enhance our customer service offering, taking advantage of the latest consumer engagement technologies and extending field service coverage. We are in discussions with leading UK players in this area to establish the best solution for the business.

“In addition, we propose to simplify the organisational structure of our support functions to align with our revised operating model, and remaining staff would move to a new office facility in the area.

“Regrettably the proposal may lead to redundancies across affected functions. Our immediate priority and focus is our duty of care to colleagues whose roles cannot be moved to other UK businesses within the group and we will be doing everything we can to support them during this time.”

The news comes just a couple of months after staff at the Whiston factory took part in five weeks of industrial action by the Community Union before an agreement for an “enhanced pay offer” had been reached in September.