Jobs are to go at another Hull caravan manufacturer as the Covid-19 pandemic takes its toll.
The sector lost a huge part of the traditional sales season in lockdown, and now Willerby has informed staff it will be making cuts.
It comes after calls were made in Westminster for further support, with the Ƶ this week officially revealed to be in deep recession.
In a letter to the 900 plus employees, chief executive Peter Munk said: “We are announcing the formal process to start consultation on a number of changes to reduce our overall cost base and prepare the company to weather any future shocks to the Ƶ economy in general as well as our seasonal industry.
“These proposed changes will impact many areas and levels of the business that are covered by salaried month staff. The hourly weekly paid staff will not be part of these changes and consultation.”
He told how the action had been driven by three factors: the unprecedented economic uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic; the new ways of working that had been adapted during lockdown, and the imminent implementation of a company-wide resource planning system.
Prior to the pandemic, turnover had already dipped by 12 per cent with political uncertainty of 2019 making big ticket purchases less attractive. It was a picture across the industry, clustered on the Humber.
Results for the year to September 2019 saw sales come in at £153.7 million, significantly below 2018’s £174.8 million. Operating profit was £9.6 million, down from 2018’s £16.1 million, though £3.5 million was attributed to set up costs for new products.
Mr Munk added: “The decision to start this formal consultation process has not been taken lightly as we know this will impact many individuals and families, but we also have an obligation to ensure that Willerby can come through these uncertain times a better and stronger company.
“We will go through the process in a fair and professional manner and will ask everyone to do the same and respect each individual and the ultimate decisions the same way.”
He concluded by saying those who would be impacted had already been approached, adding that the expected completion date for the consultation period was September 23, with final announcements to be made soon after that date.
As reported when the annual figures were published in June, Mr Munk was optimistic for the future.
“In the long-term we believe that our industry will come back stronger than ever,” he said. “The rise of the static caravan will see growth like never before. That does leave us with some very real and painful short term issues that we need to address.
“The delay to the start of our season will cause a ripple effect throughout the rest of the year and particularly through the winter where holiday parks are shut.”
The number of staff Willerby is looking to shed has not been revealed, with 968 on the payroll in the latest financials. It had already dipped from just above 1,000 in 2018.
Across the city, Swift has already announced it is making a five per cent cut in the workforce - a reduction of around 50 employees - ahead of returning to production on September 1.
While it brings gloom to many doors, opportunities exist in the allied modular building sector, with strong demand being seen with the likes of Premier Modular at Brandesburton and Integra at Paull.
