Jobs fear at car dealership
More than 60 people have been made redundant at a Black Country car dealership that has gone into administration.
Administrators from accountancy firm Smith & Williamson were called in to Bicknells Vauxhall in New Road, Tipton, yesterday after the firm was hit by "period of difficult trading".
Administrators said today they were hopeful of finding a buyer within the next month, however, all but three members of staff were told last night they were being made redundant.
Around 130 staff are believed to have been axed from the company's three sites, which includes the head office based off Cotswold Way in Blackpole, Worcester as well as another branch in Malvern. The firm's Tipton base, which employed around 65 workers, includes a van and car dealership and a service garage, as well as the largest Vauxhall parts department in the country, supplying garages throughout the West Midlands.
The remaining staff were today diverting orders for Vauxhall parts to other dealers, while customers whose vehicles were still in the service garage were being told their vehicles would be transferred to other garages.
Customers who had their vehicles booked in for future services and repairs have been contacted and told the work was being put on hold until further notice. Cars and vans have already been cleared from the outdoor sales forecourt.
A spokesman for Bicknells, who did not want to be named, today said the company had gone into administration but there was a possibility of a sale in the near future. "We are hoping it will be reopened as a Vauxhall dealership," he said.
Staff have been kept on in the parts, accounts and administration departments as an interim arrangement.
Jess Koslow, spokeswoman for administrators Smith and Williamson, said: "David Blenkarn and Greg Palfrey of Smith and Williamson were appointed joint administrators to Bicknells Vauxhall Ltd on May 26, following a period of difficult trading."
