LONG-standing Petersfield engineering company Tews, which employs nearly 100 people, has been forced to put more than 70 workers on short time because of a loss of orders.
Managing Director of Tews Engineering Malcolm Hankin told The Herald that 77 hourly paid and works staff had started short time working this month.
He had been forced to make a further seven members of staff redundant from posts spread across TewsÕ four Petersfield factories.
Mr Hankin said: ÒUnfortunately, having weathered the loss of export orders caused by the strength of sterling, leaving us heavily reliant on the home market, the downturn witnessed by the UK engineering sector as a whole has now impacted on our order book.Ó
Tews has been operating in Petersfield for many years providing sub-contract engineering services to customers within the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe.
ÒA large proportion of our business derives from the forklift industry, which is extremely price sensitive, with lower costs of production in Eastern Europe and currently in a position of excess capacity,Ó Mr Hankin said.
ÒAs a result of the downturn in orders the company, with the agreement from employee representatives, commenced short-time working this month and a limited redundancy programme.Ó
He said the standard working week consisted of 39 hours in four days which has been cut for the 77 workers to just under 30 hours in three days.
ÒThe company remains in a financially strong position, Òand has every confidence in its ability to recover from the current manufacturing recession as it has done in the past,Ó Mr Hankin said.
There would be future meetings with works representatives, he said, to decide what could be done to go forward through March.