A DUNDEE manufacturing firm has announced it faces closure with all jobs at risk just weeks before Christmas.
Staff at Ravensby Glass have reportedly been told to expect redundancies as the firm reported “unsustainable losses” this year with bosses saying it had “no prospect” of returning to profitability.
According to The Courier, the director of Ravensby Glass, Nicholas Cunningham, has told staff this week that the redundancy process was now underway.
The latest accounts filed by the glass manufacturer showed the firm recorded a pre-tax loss of more than £1 million at the end of October 2023, despite having a turnover of more than £18.2m during the same accounting period.
Last year the company reduced its workforce by almost 30 jobs, from 175 staff in 2022 to 147 in 2023.
All staff have reportedly been told the 45-day redundancy notice period is being introduced this week.
Cunningham told The Courier the company would need to close within the next two months if it didn’t cut the number of employees.
Ravensby Glass was founded in 1985 as part of Tayside Windows and was acquired nine years later by Malcolm, Ogilvie & Co, who have deep roots in manufacturing in Dundee which date back more than 170 years.
The firm supplies “high specification insulated glass units” to the public, residential, commercial, historic, and medical sectors.
It has two buildings in Dundee’s West Pitkerro Industrial Estate.
Writing to employees, Cunningham said: “For some time the company has been experiencing a serious situation with very substantial financial losses having been incurred over recent months and during the immediate past two financial years.
“Similarly the forecast position reflects an ongoing outlook of unsustainable losses in excess of £1m.
“We have not been able to recoup historic profit from our customer base that we have lost.
“Energy costs are remaining high. Our markets are not showing the improvements we had hoped for and with not attaining full production coupled to some quality issues continuing, this puts us in an extremely difficult position.”
He continued: “Unfortunately, in spite of technical and commercial developments achieved, the company continues to make unsustainable losses with no prospect of returning to profitability.
“In this respect we very much regret to advise that if the parent company is not able to avoid the need for redundancies, our proposal is to cease trading and to wind up the affairs of the company during the course of the coming months.
“In the circumstances we have to advise you that there is a potential redundancy situation arising which may affect all employees and that the consultation process will commence in the course of the next few days.”
Cunningham went on to say the company would be exploring ways of avoiding redundancies and that it would carry out a 45-day “consultation exercise” with representatives of its employees.
