Jobs to go at Newcastle engineers Michell Bearings less than a year after acquisition
Jobs are in jeopardy at Newcastle engineering business Michell Bearings less than a year after it was acquired by British Engines for more than £12m.
British Engines finalised a deal to buy Michell Bearings, a marine company based in the city¡¯s west end, at the end of last year, for around £12.5m, making it the group¡¯s seventh engineering company in the North East.
Now, after a business review which followed the acquisition, directors have announced a proposal to reduce the workforce.
It is understood that around 28 redundancies are set to be made.
A spokeswoman for Michell Bearings said: ¡°It is with regret that on Friday we announced to our workforce a proposal to reduce the head count within the business.
¡°We have started consultation on this proposal and it would be inappropriate for us to comment any further at this time.¡±
The firm invented the hydrodynamic bearing more than 100 years ago, and now designs and manufacturers the bearings for the marine and industrial sectors.
Michell Bearings also owns a 51% shareholding in Michell Bearings (India) Pvt Ltd, a non-wholly owned subsidiary company based in Bangalore.
When the firm was bought up by British Engines, the deal also included the acquisition of the Rolls-Royce Training School on Scotswood Road, and around 200 jobs were involved.
