Servis is to go after 80 years in business

An historic Black Country washing machine firm which employs around 150 people has been axed, it emerged today.

Servis UK Ltd has been placed into liquidation, almost 80 years since it founded in Darlaston Road, Darlaston.

Workers from the firm today said they had lost their jobs and that staff had been leaving steadily over the last few weeks. One worker, who did not want to be named, said: "The way we have been treated is atrocious. "We were told to keep it quiet that our jobs had gone. It's a disgrace."

Speaking outside the branch, John Lici, Distribution Manager, said the Darlaston Road side had become too expensive. "This place is too big," he said.

Mr Lici said workers would be given a chance to work from the firm's Birmingham base. But he admitted that would not be possible for some.

"The people who can't make it to BIrmingham are complaining. But we have to pay £300,000 in council tax and £5,000 a month in energy costs here."

A statement released by the firm said: "The Antonio Merloni branch has been moving out of its UK operation over the last six months, from a vertical integrated model to an outsourced one.

"Services have been outsourced to storage and handling providers in Rugby, call centre handling in Nottingham rather than being directly employed at the historic site in Darlaston Road.

"The site no longer meets the standards required for the day to day running of the operations. Servis UK Ltd has therefore ended its function and it has today gone into liquidation.

"The Antonio Merloni UK branch, which is responsible for everything else like sales and marketing, will continue to operate from its new offices in Waterloo Street, Birmingham."

Servis was founded in Darlaston in 1929 and became one of the region's biggest employers before falling into difficulties in the 1980s. The "partnership" with Italian firm Antonio Merloni began in 1991.