Firm is to shed jobs (From Barry And District News)

Firm is to shed jobs

BARRY chemical giant Dow Corning is shedding 40 jobs at its Cardiff Road site.

The move comes as part of the corporation's plans to axe its global workforce by a total of 550 positions, or roughly six percent, since the beginning of the year.

Within the figure, about 300 of the positions have come from not filling vacancies created by retirements and resignations.

And about 250 would be from separations of current employees.

Among the approximately 250 positions that are being eliminated by separating current employees, about 40 percent will be in the Americas, approximately 30 percent in Asia, and about 30 percent in Europe.

Company president Gerry Anderson confirmed that over the past several months, Dow Corning has committed itself to reducing costs and changing and improving the way it serves customers.

He told the News: "We are accelerating the implementation of our strategic direction as we manage our way through the current global economic downturn.

"This includes continued investment in new growth opportunities while we also reduce our expenses. Positions are being eliminated as we move to new ways of working to satisfy our customers' needs, reduce expenses, and increase our rate of growth. This is a step we do not take lightly,"

Dow Corning will be offering support to those employees affected and will be providing an outplacement service to help them find alternative employment.

"It is estimated that up to 40 employees will be affected at the Barry site, most of whom are expected to be volunteers.

The announcement, which comes less than a year after 70 job losses at Barry has been described as "bad news for Barry," by Vale MP John Smith.

"These are well-paid jobs making a significant contribution to the economy and we can ill afford to lose them," he said.