Created by Bob Blizzard, Waveney Constituency Labour Party, 35 High Street, NR32 1HY.
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REPORT ON JELD WEN BY BOB BLIZZARD MP

I met with trade union shop stewards at the Jeld Wen factory on December 7th after they contacted me with the news that management had given them notice of closure of the Lowestoft factory by summer of next year. It was clear the situation is grim. Jeld Wen has run down the former Boulton and Paul site over a long time and the management told me years ago that they really wanted to close it but were stuck with an expensive long lease.

I met with Jeld Wen management, together with the stewards, at the factory on December 11th. I suggested that, as the site is much larger than now needed, could not part of it be sold off to save money and raise money to keep the factory going? I was told this was not a runner and that the factory had no future beyond next summer.

The trade unions are now negotiating the best possible redundancy and closure terms. I have asked JobcentrePlus to send in a special Rapid Response Team early in January to give on-site advice and assistance, including retraining options, to help the workforce find new jobs.

The end of Jeld Wen is not a great surprise, but it is still a shock, with the worst possible timing just before Christmas.

The first task is to help those people losing their jobs. But at some point we will have to look at the future of this huge site. It will not be acceptable to the town for it to sit unused until beyond 2020 when the Jeld Wen lease expires.