Category Archives: Manufacturing sector

BASF to cut 2,600 jobs as energy crisis puts Germany on track for recession

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Chemicals company says disruption from Ukraine war, rising costs and inflation will continue this year

The German chemicals company BASF has said it will cut 2,600 jobs as Europe’s largest economy braces for recession triggered by the energy crisis that intensified after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago.

The year was “dominated by the consequences of the war in Ukraine and in particular by increased raw material and energy prices”, BASF said in a statement on Friday. It paid additional energy costs of €3.2bn (£2.8bn) globally during 2022.

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Climate crisis brings whiff of danger to French perfume capital

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In Grasse, droughts, heatwaves, and excessive rainfall have made growing flowers increasingly difficult

When heatwaves used to hit the French town of Grasse, the perfume capital of the world, townspeople didn’t water their flowers. Instead, they marched along the town’s cobblestone streets, in a procession towards the church.

“They were calling for rain from the spirits,” says Carole Biancalana, a fourth-generation perfume flower producer whose grandmother participated in the rain ceremonies. “But I don’t think this procession would cut it in today’s climate.”

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MPs urge asbestos company to pay £10m to fund cancer research

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All-party group including peers backs campaign by victims’ group, saying Cape ‘knowingly put people in danger’

MPs and peers have written to one of the biggest manufacturers of asbestos, calling on it to make a £10m donation towards mesothelioma research “for knowingly putting people in danger”.

In a letter to Altrad, parent company of Cape, the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on occupational safety and health says that documents released after a long-running court battle show that Cape historically “provided misleading reassurance about the dangers of asbestos”.

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Where does the Britishvolt collapse leave UK’s dream of an electric future?

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Britain’s car industry relies on petrol or diesel vehicles – and every failure to be part of the electric revolution makes it more exposed

The battery startup Britishvolt eyed a big opportunity. With the looming UK ban on sales of internal combustion engine cars after 2035, big demand for batteries was guaranteed. The problem was actually building the batteries.

The company’s efforts have now come to nothing. It collapsed into administration on Tuesday after funding talks failed, leaving a string of disappointed backers ranging from the FTSE 100 companies Glencore and Ashtead to the property investor Tritax, owned by investment group abrdn, which had committed to fund a battery “gigafactory” in Northumberland.

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Energy bill support for UK businesses to be cut by Jeremy Hunt

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New scheme for companies, charities and public sector organisations to offer discount on wholesale prices

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, is poised to announce a cut to the financial support offered to businesses to help with their energy bills.

A new scheme to provide support for businesses, charities and public sector organisations at a less generous level than the current scheme is expected to be presented in the House of Commons on Monday.

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Bike maker Brompton to source fewer parts from China and Taiwan

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UK company makes decision because of growing tensions between Beijing and the island

Brompton, the UK’s largest bicycle maker, has said it is planning to reduce its dependence on China and Taiwan for parts, amid fears of a growing military threat to the island from Beijing.

The company known for its folding bikes is among various western firms hoping to ensure they can source supplies from other countries, as concerns mount over rising geopolitical tensions, and even a possible future invasion of Taiwan by China, which considers the island to be a breakaway province.

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Big energy users not holding their breath on national cabinet help amid ‘outrageous’ prices

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Companies hoping, but not expecting, Albanese government can implement price caps on gas and coal

Australia’s big energy users aren’t confident national cabinet can pull a rabbit out of its hat when it meets on Friday to discuss a crucial deal to reduce gas and electricity prices.

They’ve been disappointed before – for about a decade, some say.

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Zero-Covid policy is costing China its role as the world’s workshop

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Beijing’s endless lockdowns are causing shortages for western firms such as Apple, and it may not be long before they move their supply chains elsewhere

The anti-lockdown unrest gripping China has forced the authorities in Beijing to respond by easing some restrictions in big manufacturing centres, as they map out a “new stage and mission” in the country’s deeply unpopular zero-Covid policy.

There are concerns that more freedom of movement could allow the virus to rip through a population where immunity is lower than in the west. Those health risks mean the “world’s workshop” is heading for a difficult winter, casting a shadow over the prospects for international trade.

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Decline of UK manufacturing accelerates as government ‘abandons’ sector

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Amid higher costs and worker shortages, British Chambers of Commerce says Brexit is another factor

When the minor ups and downs caused by the extra bank holiday for the Queen’s funeral are stripped out of the latest GDP figures, it is clear the long decline of Britain’s industrial base has accelerated.

Protected by the government through the coronavirus pandemic, this year, factory owners say ministers have abandoned them to cope with a long recession without so much as a glance in their direction.

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UK-backed battery firm Britishvolt considers entering administration

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Company struggling to find investors willing to fund effort to build giant £3.8bn ‘gigafactory’ in north-east

The UK government-backed battery startup Britishvolt is on the brink of entering administration with the potential loss of almost 300 jobs, after it struggled to find investors willing to fund its effort to build a giant £3.8bn “gigafactory” in north-east England.

The company had considered an administration as early as Monday, two sources with knowledge of Britishvolt’s operations told the Guardian. Britishvolt has lined up the accountancy firm EY to carry out the administration if it goes ahead.

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Brexit red tape puts brakes on UK innovation and EU sales

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Many new products now need multiple safety test facilities for home and abroad, say entrepreneurs

British inventions are being brought to market overseas because new Brexit safety certification rules mean they can’t be sold in the UK.

Trade bodies and entrepreneurs have blamed the government’s decision to stop accepting the European Union’s CE mark and instead create a new UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark showing that a product is safe.

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UK factory growth slows to weakest in 18 months as business optimism falls

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Supply bottlenecks, cost pressures and softer demand hit British industry

Growth in UK factories’ order books and output has slowed to its weakest in 18 months as cost pressures, supply bottlenecks and softer demand hit British industry.

The latest update on manufacturing from the CBI found business optimism fell for a third quarter running amid signs that the strong expansion of the past year has come to an end.

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Satellite firm bailed out by UK to be taken over by French rival

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OneWeb, touted by Boris Johnson as a potential rival to Elon Musk’s Starlink, provides communications services

A satellite company part-owned by the British government is due to be taken over by an EU rival this week, dashing hopes of fostering a UK firm to rival Elon Musk’s Starlink following its taxpayer bailout at the height of the pandemic.

OneWeb, which provides services including broadband from its low-orbit satellites, will be taken over by one of its shareholders – the Paris-listed Eutelsat- in a deal that could be announced as early as Monday.

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Pro-Brexit UK regions more dependent on EU for exports, report finds

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Research also reveals EU remains ‘overwhelmingly dominant’ destination for UK manufacturing exports

Brexit-supporting regions in the UK are becoming increasingly dependent on the EU for their manufacturing exports, research by the trade body Make UK has found.

The report, based on quarterly manufacturing outlook data measuring performance in output, orders, employment and investment intentions, also found the EU remains the “overwhelmingly dominant” destination for UK manufacturing exports.

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UK battles to keep Jaguar Land Rover’s planned EV production

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Britain lagging behind in race to build vital large-scale and local battery factories

Britain is locked in a battle to hold on to production of Jaguar Land Rover’s future range of electric vehicles as concerns grow that the UK is falling behind in the race to build vital large-scale battery factories.

The company, which is owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata, said it continued to “explore all options” for battery supply amid reports it could build electric cars in eastern Europe.

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UK imposes sanctions on Roman Abramovich-linked steel firm Evraz

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Foreign Office says company part-owned by billionaire ‘operates in sectors of strategic significance to government of Russia’

The UK government has placed sanctions on Evraz, the multinational steelmaker part-owned by the billionaire Roman Abramovich that was formerly counted among Britain’s biggest companies.

The Foreign Office said on Thursday that Evraz “operates in sectors of strategic significance to the government of Russia” and the action would “further chip away at Putin’s financial reserves and siege economy, and support Ukraine’s continued resistance”.

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Shelf shock: soaring supermarket prices shoppers find hard to swallow

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From dog food to coffee, readers are reporting some basic goods’ prices are rising by far more than inflation

Inflation is rampant, and supermarket prices are no exception. Shoppers are returning to stores to find old favourites have leapt in price from one week to the next. The cost of consumer goods is spiralling at such a rate that retail analysts have coined a new term, shelf shock.

Nestlé, the owner of KitKat, Häagen-Dazs and Felix cat food, became the latest consumer goods group to warn of more pain to come on Thursday, saying it had raised prices by 5.2% in the first three months of this year and that rising production costs would force another increase soon.

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High energy-using industries fear lack of support from UK ministers

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Firms say they need the kind of help that EU competitors get as gas and electricity prices soar

Britain’s strategic heavy industries have warned they risk being left high and dry by a lack of support in the government’s upcoming energy strategy, warning that failure to follow European countries’ measures to reduce gas and electricity costs will put UK businesses at risk.

The government is expected to outline long-awaited proposals this week for a once-in-a-generation drive to invest in nuclear power and possibly more onshore wind and solar power, as well as approving continued North Sea oil and gas exploration.

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‘Sticking-plaster measures’: Sunak fails to ease pain of surging costs, say firms

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Hospitality, manufacturing and haulage sectors say spring statement falls far short of the help needed

The spring statement did not deliver much to help Lesters, a small but growing packaging company struggling with rising costs.

The Staffordshire-based firm’s energy bills will rise from £7,000 a month to £18,000 when the current contract runs out. Speaking after Rishi Sunak’s spring statement, Lesters’ managing director, Billy Hutchinson, said the chancellor had offered nothing to help on this key issue.

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UK asbestos maker withheld information on material’s risks, court papers show

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According to documents, Cape played down dangers and lobbied for warning labels to be tempered

One of the UK’s biggest manufacturers of asbestos and the industry bodies that it co-founded historically withheld information on risks posed by the carcinogenic material, playing down the dangers while lobbying the government for product warnings to be tempered, according to documents released after a lengthy court battle.

A lawyer who acted for the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK in its fight to obtain the documents about Cape compared its behaviour to the tobacco industry’s former refusal to admit evidence of harms from smoking while its own research showed the opposite.

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