Jobs Set to be Cut by Vosper

According to The News, Portchester-based VT Halmatic has told workers that up to 130 of the 270 workforce could be made redundant. The business has been under threat for some months and has now announced it is to cut costs by making fewer types of boats and reducing the workforce. Letters have been sent out to the threatened workers which gives them options to apply for jobs elsewhere in the VT Group. Company officials said, following a decline in orders for some Ministry of Defense and commercial craft, we have undertaken a strategic review that will result in us exiting some product lines and restructuring the business.

VT Group has been reviewing the Halmatic site in recent months. Part of the site is in the process of being sold off to developers, possibly for housing, with the future of the rest of the site unclear. One option could be to move VT Halmatic to the naval base alongside VT Shipbuilding and sell the land off for housing. Talks are currently taking place with the union. Defence economics expert at the University of Portsmouth, Dr Michael Asteris, said the loss of jobs was a problem specific to VT Halmatic and the competitive industry it was in, and not VT Group as a whole. Source: The News