Dozens of jobs at risk as West Bromwich chemical firm enters redundancy talks
Dozens of jobs are at risk after a chemicals business entered into redundancy talks with unions.
Robinson Brothers in Phoenix Street, West Bromwich, is in consultation with the Unite and GMB unions over a potential 30 job losses from its 237-strong workforce.
Adrian Hanrahan, managing director of the 154-year-old business, said that the company was facing a "perfect storm" from the impact of lost trade due to Brexit, cheaper costs of manufacturing for Chinese rivals and rising energy costs.
"We are in consultation about the potential for 30 redundancies until the end of March," he confirmed.
Mr Hanrahan said that the consultation also involved a five per cent salary increase for those remaining with the business once agreement was reached with the unions.
Robinson Brothers develops and manufactures a range of chemicals.
In its 2021 financial year the company had turnover of £33.7 million and made a pre-tax profit of £1.02m. The number employed then was 263 – 257 full-time and another 127 involved in production.
It is one of the UK's largest independent chemical manufacturers of speciality/fine chemicals and rubber accelerators.
Robinson Brothers is a member of the Chemical Industries Association which represents chemical and pharmaceutical companies across UK.
