200 jobs lost as truck firm moves to Austria.Byline: Stephen Stephen, 1097?–1154, king of England (1135–54). The son of Stephen, count of Blois and Chartres, and Adela, daughter of William I of England, he was brought up by his uncle, Henry I of England, who presented him with estates in England and France and Rylance THE end of mainstream truck production at Cheshire's ERF n. 1. A garden plot, usually about half an acre. assembly plant comes less than two years after the company invested pounds 28m in the factory. The firm, which has been producing trucks in Cheshire Cheshire, county, England Cheshire (chĕsh`ər), county (1991 pop. 937,300), 901 sq mi (2,334 sq km), W central England. The county seat is Chester. The terrain is generally low, flat, and fertile. for almost 90 years, opened a new administration and production building in Middlewich at the end of 2000. It was taken over in March, 2000 by German company MAN, which bought it from Western Star Trucks of Canada Canada (kăn`ədə), independent nation (2001 pop. 30,007,094), 3,851,787 sq mi (9,976,128 sq km), N North America. Canada occupies all of North America N of the United States (and E of Alaska) except for Greenland and the French islands of for pounds 118m. At that point, 750 people worked at the Cheshire plant, which produced about 3,000 vehicles a year. Employees have been told that forecast annual sales have fallen short of that needed for the plant to operate efficiently. The change means that assembly of the current ranges will end in July, and that 200 jobs will be lost in Cheshire as new models come on stream in Austria and Germany. The future of the plant has been in doubt since auditors AUDITORS, practice. Persons lawfully appointed to examine and digest accounts referred to them, take down the evidence in writing, which may be lawfully offered in relation to such accounts, and prepare materials on which a decree or judgment may be made; and to report the whole, together discovered a huge hole in the company's accounts last August. It also emerged that the plant was incurring in·cur tr.v. in·curred, in·cur·ring, in·curs 1. To acquire or come into (something usually undesirable); sustain: incurred substantial losses during the stock market crash. 2. heavy and unacceptable losses. An ERF spokesman last night said the company would be looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. an alternative use for the factory. But he added: "Middlewich remains the headquarters for ERF, with responsibility for sales and distribution, product engineering and product adaptation. "These measures will secure the presence of the ERF brand in the UK truck market for the future by ensuring the supply of hgh-premium, technically-advanced products at a competitive cost." He said there would still be 500 people employed throughout the UK by ERF and its wholly-owned distributors. David Smith, executive director of sales and marketing, said: "It was a tough decision to take, but one we could not duck. Not to have taken it would be to deny ERF the opportunity to continue as a significant force in the UK heavy truck market. "The new models, to be launched in April, will provide ERF, its distributors, and its customers with a sharper, more competitive edge in the fiercely contested UK market." Tony Woodley Tony Woodley (born Wirral 2 January 1948) is a British Trade Union leader who came to prominence in June 2003 when he was elected to succeed Bill Morris as General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G). , national organiser for the Transport and General Workers' Union Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU) British labour union. The Dockers' Union (founded 1889) took the lead in the merger of 14 unions to form the TGWU in 1922. The union grew rapidly under the leadership of Ernest Bevin (1922–40). , was yesterday seeking high-level meetings with the firm. He said: "I was very shocked by this announcement. "Job losses is one thing, but closing a factory down is completely different. "I will be looking to understand the logic and reasoning behind it. "I am in the process of arranging a meeting with the company to look at the possibility of minimising further the damage and if possible, to change their decision." The firm will launch a major new truck range at the UK Commercial Vehicle Show in April. ERF was founded by Cheshire steam wagon wagon: see carriage. wagon Four-wheeled vehicle designed to be drawn by draft animals. Wagons have been used from the 1st century BC; early examples used spoked wheels with metal rims, pivoted front axles, and linchpins to secure the wheels. designer Edwin Foden, who was convinced that the future lay in diesel lorries. At the age of 60, with the help of his son Dennis and two former colleagues, Foden built the first ERF diesel lorry. Late in 1933 "E. R. Foden & Son Diesel" made its debut at the motor show in Olympia. With a little factory on land rented from a local farmer, the four-man team set about building their first wagon. From the start the firm would buy in the parts rather than build them in their own workshop, as their competitors Foden and Leyland did. In 1935 the company changed its name to ERF to avoid confusion with its Sandbach neighbour, Foden. CAPTION(S): FOUNDER: Edwin Foden |
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