'Gutted': MP Josh Simons promises to help Wigan NEG plant workers after closure announcement
More than 250 jobs will be lost when the NEG Nippon Electric Glass Fibre Works (EGFU) closes its doors for the final time at the end of June.
The future of the site, based at Hindley Green near Wigan, has been in doubt since April, when NEG announced they were looking for a buyer to take over their UK branch.
Josh Simons, Labour's MP for Makerfield admitted it will be "a difficult few weeks" for those involved.
"It is gutting for Hindley Greeners," he said. "Its going to be a difficult few days and few weeks, and I know that there are families right across my constituency who are struggling mentally and even financially with what's going to happen next.
"And I just want them to know that I'm here, my office is here, the council's here, the college is here, and we will all be there tonight and several times over the next few days and weeks to support them."
The closure was confirmed at a Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday 18 June, where the company's president Akira Kishimoto announced it would "cease operations" of their UK subsidiary.
The President confirmed the site will "stop its production in late June".
Mr Simons has been involved in ongoing negotiations over recent months to try and keep the factory alive, with his frustration with owners Nippon clear.
"I can't tell you how many times over the last three months we thought we'd got a deal over the line," he said.
"It looks like every condition's been met and I've been expecting a call from the UK CEO or from Japan saying the deals over the line, its going to be OK and then something changes, there's a new condition somewhere.
"And what's happened over the last two weeks in particular is two deals have fallen through that were viable, commercial deals, that the government expressed its support for, the mayor of Greater Manchester expressed his support for, I've expressed support for, but then Nippon changed the terms.
"And I just don't have confidence any longer that Nippon is serious about doing a deal."
The MP held a special meeting for workers and their families at the site at which groups from across the local area and the city region came together to explore what opportunities there may be for staff in the future.
He returned early from Parliament to join the group aimed at bringing the 'whole borough' together to help the workers and their families.
The Grove Company, which recently helped redundant Thomas Cooks staff, was just one of the attendees, alongside Wigan Council support staff, and Wigan and Leigh College to discuss retraining and education opportunities.
"The evening was full of mixed emotions," Mr Simons said.
"I wanted to be there to show workers they're not alone and to let them know the support that's available from Wigan Council, Wigan and Leigh College, DWP, and the Growth Company, as well as Work Well.
"I know things are going to be hard, but this is a community that will pull together, and we'll make sure that everyone gets what they need.
"My support for the workers continues and in the coming weeks I will be hosting a jobs fair. The fight now begins for a new, positive future for this site and the Hindley community and I will work tireless to make this happen."
He added it was not just about immediate actions, but also about relaunching former NEG staff in the future, and said a job fair will also be held in around a month so those who were made redundant get opportunities for retraining and potentially a new job if they want them.
Mr Simons says that negotiators met all the conditions that were imposed by Nippon, but that "the goal posts were moved again and again and again".
But his hope for the future remains undimmed, and together with the union and other partners across the town and the city region, he says he is determined to find a viable future for the site, and for the people who lost their jobs, and their families:
"We're still at the early stages of planning what's going to come next," he said.
"But I think the workers on the plant, the GMB who I've been working really closely with know this by now, I'm not going to let this slip, this is not going to just drift off into something that takes 5, 10, 15 years to resolve.
"Nippon have decided to close the plant, we now need to make sure these workers get a good deal, and a good package from Nippon, and then we need to start work straight away on what the future of this plant looks like."
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