Pirelli Expresses Desire to Retain Carlisle Operations

Pirelli has reportedly again voiced its desire to retain its operations in Carlisle. According to Cumbria Chamber of Commerce chief executive, Rob Johnston, representatives from the Italian manufacturer told him in talks during the week of November 17 to 21 that it planned to remain in the town. He added that the company’s announcement of dropping a shift at the factory and extending its Christmas period shutdown was infinitely better than the alternatives of redundancies or plant closure.

“The dropping of a shift by Pirelli is clearly bad news for those involved and will mean less money circulating in the local economy,” Johnston told the News and Star newspaper. “While this is disappointing, in the current economic circumstances it could have been a lot worse.

“As with many others, Pirelli is suffering difficult trading conditions and we could easily have been hearing an announcement of redundancies, “he added “There has been speculation for some years that Pirelli would look to move away from the city to an area with a lower cost base and some organisations would have used this time as an opportunity to take a step towards that….So it’s heartening to see Pirelli showing their commitment to Carlisle.”

In a press statement, Pirelli said it is “a necessity to introduce a reduction in working hours for all our production employees in tandem with an extended shutdown over the Christmas and New Year period….Due to the volatility in the world markets there is a weekly review of the situation and further adjustments to production may be required.” However the statement added that “Pirelli Industrial in the UK is faring better than the majority of our competitors and has not currently faced the level of shutdown and reduction they are experiencing.”

Johnston’s words remain upbeat: “The decision to maintain its Carlisle workforce signals faith in the city and its people and is a good sign for the future of the plant. It puts us in a good position once we start to see an upturn in the economy. In discussions with Pirelli they’ve assured us that their longer term intention is to maintain the factory here.”