JOB losses are in the pipeline at a fibre optic manufacturer’s two bases in the Scottish Borders, it has emerged
Emtelle has announced that “a small number of people” face being impacted at its sites in Hawick and Jedburgh by a downturn in its UK business.
The news comes just months after the firm announced a £42m investment to develop a new facility in Abu Dhabi.
The company, one of the biggest employers in the Borders, has not revealed the number of jobs to be lost at the firm’s headquarters at Haughhead in Hawick and in Oxnam Road in Jedburgh.
But a commitment has been made to “minimise any disruption or anxiety”, with a pledge to redeploy staff wherever possible.
An Emtelle spokesperson said: “Emtelle can confirm that the difficult decision has been made to commence consultations to potentially make a small number of people redundant at our Hawick and Jedburgh facilities.
“This is sadly due to reduced demand from our UK customers.
READ MORE: Home is sought for a piece of Borders town's railway memorabilia
“We will continue to support our staff in this process and we strive to minimise any disruption or anxiety of the team.
“Furthermore, we are looking to redeploy those affected wherever possible.”
When announcing the new facility in Abu Dhabi back in March a spokesperson described it as a “huge statement of intent”.
Speaking at the time, Emtelle Group chief executive Tony Rodgers said: “This agreement marks a transformative day for Emtelle, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and the world.
“It is a huge statement of intent by Emtelle as we will have the manufacturing space needed to ramp up our capacity.
“In turn, this will significantly shorten supply chains and guarantee both existing and new customers security of supply.”
Emtelle manufactures cable duct, the plastic piping which encases underground fibre-optic cables, and exports to more than 60 countries.
The company currently employs more than 400 staff in the Borders out of a total of more than 800 workers worldwide.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here