Johnson Controls in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, which makes seatcovers for car firms is to close in ...

1. US pulls plug on Mansfield factory.
Johnson Controls in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, which makes seat
covers for car firms is to close in the next few months with the loss of
550 jobs.
Transport and General Workers Union national officer Tony Woodley said pressure from car makers
for suppliers to cut prices and production
costs was mainly to blame, although the plan to end car production at
the Ford plant in Dagenham was also a factor.
He added that the decision by the US-owned company was another
example of a multinational firm making British workers redundant without
consulting unions.
The company has told the union they have to make a 30 per cent
reduction in costs so relocation out of the UK was the only way they
could meet that target, according to Mr Woodley.
The factory, opened in 1994, supplies car seat covers to Ford,
Rover, Honda, Nissan and Toyota.
Plant manager Jon McCallion said: 'It is a very sad day for
the Mansfield plant and for our entire workforce.
'We regret that economic conditions have changed such that
Johnson Controls is no longer able to remain despite the efforts from

2. all our staff which have improved quality and productivity in this
factory.'
But another US-owned seating firm, Lear, is doing better. The
world's fifth-largest automotive supplier and the eighth-largest
supplier in Europe said yesterday it would expand its presence in Europe
with a new factory in Madrid to produce seats for PSA Peugeot Citroen.
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