Union leaders and Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard were this week calling for urgent action over plans by the giant GKN group to make 150 workers redundant at Sankeys in Hadley Castle.
The firm is Telford’s biggest industrial employer and the cuts are part of plans by the group to close three plants, throwing more than 470 people out of work.
The job losses at the company’s auto structures plant at Hadley Castle – which makes automotive parts such as chassis – are being blamed a “dramatic” drop in customer orders.
Mr Pritchard said: “This is a huge and devastating blow for the hard working and committed GKN workforce and their families.
“Rather than bailing out banks for executive bonuses, the Government should be saving real jobs like these at GKN.”
He said the Government’s rescue package for the car industry had turned out to be nothing but “empty words.”
Councillor Pat Smart, chairman of Hadley & Leegomery Parish Council, said she used to work for Sankeys along with her husband and family members. She said it was a “bitter blow” for the community.
GKN Automotive chief executive Nigel Stein said: ”The actions being announced are regrettable but absolutely necessary to respond to the global economic downturn that is particularly affecting the automotive industry.”
GMB and Unite union officials plan to work with GKN to minimise the impact of cuts at Hadley Castle.
Keith Hodgkinson, full-time senior organiser for GMB union in the West Midlands, said: “GMB officials, along with Unite, are seeking urgent talks with GKN Autostructures to minimise the impact of any compulsory redundancies.”