70 jobs set to go as downturn bites

Feb 5 2009 by Graeme King, The Journal

AROUND 70 jobs are under threat at two major employers in the south of the region.

Conservatory company Amdega is planning 41 redundancies from its workforce of 300 in Darlington, while multinational chemicals business Dow is looking at 30 job losses from its Teesside plant.

Amdega, which trades as the world’s oldest conservatory company, says it needs to make redundancies as part of restructuring plans aimed at staying at the forefront of the sector.

Karl Wharton, chief executive, said the redundancies did not indicate the company was in trouble, and said Amdega still has a forward order book worth £14m.

Meanwhile, Dow is making cuts as part of a global cost reduction process, where it is cutting 5,000 of 46,000 jobs worldwide.