LONDON, February 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Unite the Union and its members in Panasonic PCCUK Newport have been demanding assurances regarding the future of Panasonic in Newport following weeks of uncertainty after a Panasonic Global announcement that 27 Panasonic plants were to close and 1500 job losses were expected worldwide.

Unite and employees onsite were finally informed today (Friday) of the potential impact of a restructuring proposal that might result in 139 out of 413 current employees being at risk of redundancy.

Bryan Godsell, Unite Regional Officer, said:

An announcement of this sort wasn't totally unexpected in the current economic climate. However, our local representatives and members are extremely shocked by the scale of the potential redundancy. The only good news is that the Newport site is not one of the 27 plants worldwide targeted for closure.

However, the really bad news is that 1 in 3 employees out of over 400 at the Newport site are now at risk of redundancy. If the redundancy takes place as proposed it will have a massive impact on the economy of South East Wales.

Once again we may see well paid highly skilled jobs sacrificed at a time when the Welsh economy can ill afford further job losses. We will be working within the formal consultation process and calling on local politicians to work with us to minimise the impact of the redundancy proposal in order to secure and consolidate the future of Panasonic PCCUK in Newport.

The Company opened the formal 90 day consultation process today and will work with Unite Officials and Shop Stewards to explore all the options towards minimizing the impact of the proposal.

Notes to Editors:

Panasonic manufactures PBX (Private Branch Exchange) telephone systems at its Newport plant for the European market.

For further information contact Bryan Godsell +44(0)7958-515333 or Ashraf Choudhury in the Unite press office on +44(0)20-7420-8914 or +44(0)7980-224761.