Jobs at risk at historic Shrewsbury factory

The decision from Radius Aerospace is expected to mean job losses at the Shrewsbury-based firm, which operates out of the old Sentinel Works on Whitchurch Road – formerly Doncasters.

Radius, which makes parts for the aviation industry, says it is not in a position to confirm how many jobs will be affected, but said the impact of the pandemic had led to the decision.

A consultation lasting 30 days is underway with the workers affected.

The firm said under its proposal its 'precision' business will move to its Bramah site, in Sheffield, but that "no final decisions have been made at this stage".

A statement from the company, which is understood to employ more than 200 people at the Shrewsbury site, said that the pandemic has had a major impact on its order book.

It said: "The impact of the Covid 19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented drop in demand and a subsequent decrease in aerospace and industrial gas turbine manufacture.

"This has resulted in build rates on some programs being up to 60 per cent lower than previous estimations.

"As a business Radius Aerospace have been substantially impacted by these lower build rates across many of our programs.

"From a Radius Shrewsbury perspective, we continue to see the impact to our 2021 orderbook from these changes resulting from the Covid pandemic, even more than what we and our customers had previously predicted.

"As an example the precision orderbook has reduced by over 50 per cent. This is as a result of the removal of the orderbook for Trent 900 spares that were the backbone of the precision business.

"Having spent considerable time reviewing the long-term strategic direction of Radius UK, it is now clear that the precision business unit is no longer viable as part of the Shrewsbury site, and to maintain the remaining orderbook I am proposing to move it in its entirety to the Radius Bramah site in Sheffield.

"This move will enable the precision facility to make a positive contribution to the overall performance of Radius UK, but more importantly provide the Shrewsbury site with the opportunity to increase its profitability by concentrating on the current fabrications and MRO business units.

"Due to the nature of this announcement the business will now begin a period of collective consultation regarding this proposal with site representatives from Unite the Union, this will last a minimum of 30 days.

"No final decisions have been made at this stage and the proposal is subject to meaningful consultation with the Shrewsbury site's elected representatives."

Doncasters in Shrewsbury became Radius last year when Radius acquired Doncasters Group's aerospace forming and fabricating business.