andy_st200

TVR is to close its UK factory in Blackpool with the loss of 260 jobs.

Britain's biggest independent car maker will cease production at the plant in six months.

Half the firm's staff had already been told to stay home from today after production plunged from 12 cars a week to just two.

The Transport and General Workers Union said it was told the company would keep a presence in the UK but would be relocating production.

A mass meeting of workers next week will decide on the union's next move.

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Andy Robertson of the TGWR said: "We are devastated by this news which has stunned the workforce."

A company spokesman denied the company was shutting down its UK operations.

"We are not closing, we are just moving production," he said.

The spokesman said the firm was looking for a smaller site with better facilities.

The only redundancies confirmed involved 71 temporary lay-offs, he said. He could give no guarantees about future job numbers.

The firm, founded in 1947, was bought two years ago by 23-year-old Russian millionaire Nikolay Smolensky.

TIFF

Anonymous

sad news, but not surprising

Mr S1

iTrader: (2)

dannyblackpool

While i worked there it was obvious that downsizing and an efficiency review was required aswell as obvious build quality problem. Hopefully it will stay in uk

Phil

iTrader: (1)

Or is it closing?

TVR: the company carries on - official

Monday 24th April

Factory to close after relocation

Factory to close as TVR carries on
Factory to close as TVR carries on
Contrary to current rumours, TVR is not closing: instead, it plans to leave the current factory at Blackpool's Bristol Avenue within six months, according to a company spokesman. The new premises will be "somewhere in the region", he said. He couldn't say why the factory had to close but confirmed that 71 people were laid off out of a total workforce of around 320.

He added that some assembly may be outsourced, which could mean that it goes abroad, but the spokesman said that nothing had definitely been decided on this issue. "We just want the best future for TVR", he said.

The reason behind the move is that "TVR has had a long winter. People normally start to get interested in cars before this time of year", he said, but instead, sales had been slow. "We're currently making 10 cars a week," he said.

Last week, TVR spokesman Ian Law said that TVR remains optimistic that its plans to expand in the Middle and Far East, will help to pull it out of the problems created by slow domestic demand. In addition, Law reckoned that we're in for some big surprises at the British Motor Show in July.

Elsewhere, local paper Blackpool Today is reporting that the workers' union, the TGWU, slammed TVR for the way it handled the news, with the local senior shop steward calling the company "cowardly" for its management of the announcement.

One worker is reported to have said: "I've no idea what the future holds now."

http://www.pistonheads.com/tvr/defau...?storyId=13760

frog

Sad news indeed

edd

luego kitcars have closed as well.

Rhys

Trouble is wasnt it said that the TVR workers was taking stock through the back door left right and centre? If so they got no one to blame but them selves imo.

_DAN_

aduz

sad news but hardly surprising as the build quality is shite

L33 BYT

Yep another

Terry Tibbs

God I hope they don't cease to exist.. Gorgeous cars.

morcheen

but the problem is nobody wants to buy them

Terry Tibbs

If I could afford and insure one I would.

IMO the ultimate sports/luxury/supercar(sagaris) Well priced for what they are, even if the build quality it shit.

frog

I did, had a 5.0L Chimaera, used daily and not a single niggle really

Glad I've had at least one, even though I'd have another (T350, Sagaris or Cerbera) if I could afford it now

Terry Tibbs

I would love a chimaera to start off with, sagaris is the ultimate really but cerbera imo is equally as gorgeous.

Carlsworth

fooking hell... lego kit cars,...wouldnt fancy one of them,,...same issues with build quality as tvr???



tvr,....death was inevitable

Rich_w

I'd heard that, but wasn't sure how true it was.

However, the cars have shite build quality (pre Russian cars especially) And more crucially, they aren't selling. As other manufacturers are building better cars.