'Gutted': MP Josh Simons promises to help Wigan NEG plant workers after closure announcement
An MP says he is "gutted" hundreds of workers will lose their jobs after the largest fibre glass factory in the UK announced its closure - but has promised to help wherever possible.
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."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ITV News
a day ago
- ITV News
'Gutted': MP Josh Simons promises to help Wigan NEG plant workers after closure announcement
An MP says he is "gutted" hundreds of workers will lose their jobs after the largest fibre glass factory in the UK announced its closure - but has promised to help wherever possible. 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."
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Hundreds of jobs to go in closure of UK's largest fibreglass factory
Hundreds of workers are set to lose their jobs after the owners of the UK's largest fibreglass factory announced the closure of the firm Nippon Electric Glass is to shut the plant in Hindley Green, Wigan, despite months of rescue talks with the government and local leaders. Josh Simons, Labour MP for Makerfield, said the firm had "repeatedly moved the goalposts" in discussions, while the GMB Union described the move as a "bitter betrayal" of the factory's 250-strong workforce. Nippon said "various options" had been considered over the plant's future, but the firm had decided to place its UK operation into voluntary liquidation. The announcement comes as Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is in Japan on a week long "trade mission" to promote investment into the region. Simons said Burnham is due to meet the chairman of Nippon, which began reviewing the future of the site in April, to discuss the like wind turbine blades and parts for the rail and aerospace industries are made at the factory using the lightweight material. Gary Edwards, regional organiser for GMB which represents skilled workers at the factory, said: "Everyone involved worked tirelessly to try and secure the site's future."But for every solution we found, the company presented another problem. It became hard not to question how serious they were about doing a deal.""I'm angry about that, I'm disappointed, bitterly, for the workers but that is what has kiboshed this deal."Mr Edwards said the 250 staff due to lose their jobs had been a victim of a "global trend" towards protectionism caused by uncertainty over global supply chains. 'Devastating' "They're essentially spending more money than they were offered in some of these deals in order to close the plant," said Simons. "The only way to explain that is because they want to reshore their supply chains in Japan, and that is not in the interests of my workers, it's not in the interests of Britain."Simons said the closure would be "devastating" for workers at the site, some of who had worked there for decades. He said he would fight to make sure those workers get "every bit of support they possible can" from the government and local authorities. The factory had made a loss of £12m in the year ending December 2024, according to a notice published by firm said it had decided to cease operation and enter voluntary liquidation to "quickly rebuild our composites business".It said it plans to "rebuild its production system" to improve profitability. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
ITV News
3 days ago
- ITV News
250 jobs at risk as UK's largest glass factory set to close in Wigan
More than 250 jobs have been put at risk as trade unions and local politicans warn the largest fibre glass factory in the UK is set to close. The NEG Nippon Electric Glass Fiber Works (EGFU), based at Hindley Green near Wigan, has been owned by the Japanese company since 2016 and was a major part of their planned expansion into the European market. The future of the site has been in doubt since April, when NEG announced they were looking for a buyer to take over their UK branch. At a Board of Directors meeting held on Wednesday 18 June, the company's president Akira Kishimoto announced they would "cease operations" of their UK subsidiary. The President confirmed the site will "stop its production in late June". Despite working with the company to find a new owner, Labour MP for Makerfield Josh Simons has published an open letter to workers in which he says that "Nippon is unwilling to do a deal to secure the future of this site and your jobs." He said: "I am angry and I will stand up for you in the coming days to secure whatever support I can for you and your families. "I want you to know that I value and respect the work you do. I care very much about doing my absolute best for you, for this community, and for industry in the UK. "In this age of insecurity, it matters where things are made and who makes them, and I will push for this site and Hindley Green to be at the front of the queue for future investment opportunities." GMB Regional Organiser Gary Edwards described the decision to close the sight as "deeply disappointing" and a "bitter betrayal of workers and UK industry". Mr Simons has been working with the Government, the GMB Union, and prospective buyers to secure the future of the sight, but said NEG repeatedly changed their conditions for any sale with little notice. He said: "I am so sorry that we couldn't get this over the line. I know how anxious this period has been. "I have spoken to many of you in recent weeks, as have Gary and your local councillors, and I can only imagine how you feel. I want you to know that your work is a source of pride for me, for this area, and for the country." Gary Edwards added: 'Everyone involved worked tirelessly to try and secure the site's future. 'But for every solution we found, the company presented another problem. It became hard not to question how serious they were about doing a deal." Mr Simons went on to invite workers to a meeting at the local Labour club with representatives of the GMB union, where he promised to explain what had happened and explain the next steps they could take.
