Christchurch engineering firm to move to Sheffield (From Bournemouth Echo)

Christchurch engineering firm to move to Sheffield

11:00am Tuesday 9th March 2010 in

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A major engineering business is shutting its head office in Dorset and moving to Yorkshire.

Siemens VAI Metals Technology Ltd, the engineering and plant building specialist, is closing down its substantial site at Bournemouth Airport and relocating to Sheffield.

Last May the Daily Echo revealed that the German owned industrial group was axing more than 200 jobs at its Enterprise Way, Aviation Park offices after suffering reduced demand as a result of the recession.

“The Christchurch office is shutting as part of its restructuring in the UK,” confirmed one employee.

“The first lot of redundancies took place last September,” she added.

Before the first round of layoffs last September, 250 staff were employed at the office and “now it’s reducing on a monthly basis”.

“Some have moved to Sheffield” and much of the work has been transferred to its Erlangen base in Germany.

Terry Atkinson, secretary at Christchurch Chamber of Trade & Commerce said: “It’s going to be sad when we are trying to attract more and more large firms into the area especially at the airport but I am sure there will be others to come along and take their place.”

It is understood that the German owned industrial group will, for the time being at least, retain a special products division in Christchurch, which is expected to employ 50 staff, made up of existing Siemens employees.

This latest move is part of the firm’s strategic review of its metals and minings business in line with challenging economic conditions. The outcomes of this review are expected to be implemented by the end of this year.

Siemens VAI, which employs 200 staff at its facility at Sheffield Business Park, now has three UK offices, between them employing around 500 staff.