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140 redundancies at metal plant 140 redundancies at metal plant
(about 3 hours later)
Anglesey Aluminium is offering 140 staff voluntary redundancy because a new power deal that gives them cheap electricity has not been reached.Anglesey Aluminium is offering 140 staff voluntary redundancy because a new power deal that gives them cheap electricity has not been reached.
Staff who want to leave the plant at Holyhead, which currently employs 500, have already submitted their names and those accepted will be told on Friday.Staff who want to leave the plant at Holyhead, which currently employs 500, have already submitted their names and those accepted will be told on Friday.
The firm rejected UK government aid of £48m over three years because it was "not enough to break even".The firm rejected UK government aid of £48m over three years because it was "not enough to break even".
Its managing director said a new cheap energy deal could still save the plant.Its managing director said a new cheap energy deal could still save the plant.
Talks are still ongoing to try to resolve the issue but in the meantime the company is pressing ahead with its plans to close the smelter as its 10 year cheap electricity deal with Wylfa nuclear power station ends in September. However, regardless of any potential power deal, the company said the redundancies will go ahead once notices are issued to volunteers on Friday.
"There is a three month notice period that they will work and they will leave at the end of September, which is when the power contract expires, so it is timed with that," explained the firm's MD, David Bloor.
"You can't withdraw it at that point in time... it's a definitive date for those people, it locks that in."
Talks are still ongoing to try to strike a new deal for cheap power, which has been supplied by the nearby Wylfa nuclear plant for the last 10 years.
Will we get a power deal that allows us to break even? To be honest, I doubt it. David Bloor, Anglesey Aluminium
'Realistic'
If no power deal is found in the next couple of weeks the company will then start discussions regarding forced redundancies that will mean another 300 staff losing their jobs.If no power deal is found in the next couple of weeks the company will then start discussions regarding forced redundancies that will mean another 300 staff losing their jobs.
If a power deal is agreed, the voluntary redundancies will still go ahead, but the number of compulsory job losses will decrease. Mr Bloor said a last minute agreement over electricity supplies would protect the future of at least one smelting production line, and substantially cut the need for compulsory redundancies.
David Bloor, managing director of Anglesey Aluminium, said if a deal was put forward offering the same cheap rate of electricity as there was in the deal with Wylfa, the plant would have a future. However, he said the company had to remain realistic, and plan for the plant's shutdown in September.
"We have always said if we can get a deal that allows us to break even, of course we can keep going," he said. "These are tough times we are in, tough economic times, it's just the harsh commercial reality of where we are," he said.
"No other suppliers have come forward with cheap electricity deals because they can sell that same electricity on the market at full commercial rates and make more money." "Yes, there is a way out of it, but will it happen? Will we get a power deal that allows us to break even? To be honest, I doubt it.
The gap is substantial and to be realistic I don't think that is about to happen David Bloor, managing director of Anglesey Aluminium "I wouldn't want to get people's hopes up that it is just around the corner, and we are close to doing this deal.
Mr Bloor added that he did not want to get workers' hopes up by giving the impression they were trying to hold out for more government money. "That's what it would take - do I think it's going to happen? No - I don't."
"The offer we have been given is extremely generous and we thank the government for their efforts but I don't think we are in a position where we are asking for a bit more money that gets us over the line," he said. The managing director has also defended the firm's decision to reject a £48m package being put forward by the UK and Welsh Assembly governments.
"I think the gap is substantial and to be realistic I don't think that is about to happen." "We've run those numbers, the commercial side of it is, it doesn't work - we'd still lose an awful lot of money in the period ahead, and that is why we can't really accept that deal," he added.
He said the offer had been "extremely generous" and that "everyone had tried hard" to reach some sort of agreement to save posts.
"I guess today is the harsh reality that maybe there is no hope anymore. That's difficult, of course we accept that, there will be anger, there will be all sorts of emotions, and we've got to deal with that the best we can."
RedundancyRedundancy
Cllr Clive McGregor, the leader of Anglesey council, said possibly only 80 of the 500 people currently employed by Anglesey Aluminium would be employed by the end of September.Cllr Clive McGregor, the leader of Anglesey council, said possibly only 80 of the 500 people currently employed by Anglesey Aluminium would be employed by the end of September.
He said he would be setting up a working group and chairing a meeting between unions and the company to figure out how to cushion the blow for those who might find themselves out of work.He said he would be setting up a working group and chairing a meeting between unions and the company to figure out how to cushion the blow for those who might find themselves out of work.
He also said he wanted workers to be given a clear indication of what is happening at the plant so they can work out what to do next.He also said he wanted workers to be given a clear indication of what is happening at the plant so they can work out what to do next.
A spokesman for the Unite union said: "It is now the intent of the union, along with our political colleagues, to arrange a further meeting with the Anglesey Aluminium Board as soon as possible in order to move the matter forward."A spokesman for the Unite union said: "It is now the intent of the union, along with our political colleagues, to arrange a further meeting with the Anglesey Aluminium Board as soon as possible in order to move the matter forward."