LDV: Redundancy fear as workers return
LDV is expected to start paying its cash-strapped employees again this week after withdrawing its application for administration.
The Washwood Heath vanmaker is set to resume production in July after its Russian owner, Gaz, sold the business to Malaysian group Weststar for an undisclosed sum at the weekend.
The good news, however, was offset by a warning that up to 20 per cent of the workforce could face redundancy because of reduced production volumes.
The Weststar deal, which is still subject to due diligence, has triggered government aid in the form of a bridging loan that will allow LDV to pay some overheads, including wages.
Some of the company’s 850 employees have begun trickling back to work to begin preparing the factory for a resumption of production. The plant has been mothballed since last December after the recession and combined credit squeeze took a severe toll on sales of its award-winning Maxus range of vans, mini buses and light trucks. Money is expected to go into workers’ bank accounts this week, the company said.
Announcing that LDV Group and its associated company, Birmingham Pressings, had formally withdrawn its application for administration at Birmingham County Court yesterday afternoon, chief executive Evgeniy Vereshchagin said: “This is due to the facts that Weststar have publicly confirmed their intention to acquire LDV ... and a loan process has been put in place with government assistance to enable the sale process to be completed.
