100 Shropshire jobs could go in Ricoh shake-up

Ricoh, based alongside the M54, is talking with employees who could be affected by the reorganisation.

The changes follow the closure of its MFP Recycled Machines business and reduced interest in its toner bottling business.

Some of the jobs at the plant, at Priorslee in Telford, may be reinstated in the autumn.

Sources from within Ricoh say they have been told the company would be laying off "most of its temporary workforce", including people who have worked with the Ricoh for several years.

But the company said it could not confirm the number of jobs that would be lost during the restructuring.

An official statement released today said: "Ricoh Products Limited has informed its employees of a number of initiatives undertaken to align the organisation with changing customer and market requirements.

"We have taken the decision to close the MFP Recycled Machines business, as a result of a significant decrease in customer demand for these services.

"We have also taken the decision to temporarily adjust the volume of activities within our toner bottling business.

"A number of these activities are expected to be resumed in autumn as seasonal demand increases again.

"To reflect current and anticipated toner bottling capacity we intend to undertake a review of our shift patterns within the toner bottling business and associated areas.

"A consultation with affected employees and the local works council has commenced."

Nobody at the Adecco employment agency, which organises the temporary workers, was available to comment.

More than 120 jobs were axed from the company in 2014, when the Japanese company attempted to reorganise some of its manufacturing lines. The redundancies were expected to bring the number of staff members down to approximately 720. It was less than a year after Ricoh and Adecco hired 40 temporary jobs at the firm, taking the numbers to about 160 temporary staff. The jobs were across two different sectors of the company – the bottling department and the department which deals with recycled cartridges, both of which could be affected by the new changes.

Earlier this year managing director of the European operation Colin Weaver told the Shropshire Star that the company were looking to 3D printing as a possible focus in the future.

"People don’t print any more," he said. "Office print is definitely on the decline as we all know, as we have tablets and phones. But everything in this room is printable – the carpet, the table, the pictures on the wall.

“The year ahead has a focus on industrial print applications, while maintaining our traditional activities. It’s really key for us to explore new markets for industrial print applications. The opportunities for 3D printing, ink jet and commercial printing are absolutely massive.”