Councillors row over cause of closure of Weir Group's Todmorden site after major job losses announced

In January, the Weir Group revealed it was consulting on closing its site at Todmorden, the town’s largest employer, with commenters on local social media saying the new is devastating for the town.

Weir has a global presence in mining technology and associated pump manufacture.

Senior councillors were asked what Calderdale Council was doing about the issue, but the question sparked disagreements about the potential causes.

Coun Felicity Issott (Con, Ryburn) said the Government should intervene to secure jobs and asked Cabinet members: “Please advise what you are doing to keep the factory open, and should this include speaking with the Government and local MPs?”

But Con Issott also claimed Cabinet member Coun Sarah Courtney’s statement that the council could do all it could to support people “means nothing for local residents, because it is abundantly clear that Labour’s National Insurance increases and mismanagement of the economy are driving business decisions such as these.”

This was denied by Coun Courtney (Lab, Calder) and, when Coun Issott raised the issue again in a later debate introduced by the Conservatives on the new Government’s National Insurance policy more generally, by Coun Adam Wilkinson (Lab, Sowerby Bridge).

Coun Courtney said Weir was in her ward.

Councillors needed to understand the company’s decision had been taken in the context of international market demand – with future mining commodities such as copper were mostly located in central Asia, the Middle East and Africa and the company had said it was looking to consolidate its production capacity, said Coun Courtney.

Senior officers from the council met immediately with Weir’s senior management team and dedicated staff to the case, she said.

“In line with Weir’s collective consultation process with staff we will wrap around the bespoke employment support package including working with West Yorkshire Combined Authority on any additional needs to ensure that Weir staff secure future employment, and further work will follow on supply chain impacts and he approach to the use of the site,” said Coun Courtney.

Coun Wilkinson in the later debate when Coun Issott raised the NI issue again in relation to Weir, said he had a lot of discussions about the closure with a relative who worked there and the matter of National Insurance had never come up in those conversations.

Weir, in a statement on its website, said: “A recent review of the Minerals Division EMEA region has highlighted significant overcapacity, particularly at the Todmorden plant. This issue is compounded by limited current demand and modest projected growth in the UK and European domestic markets traditionally served by the facility. The Minerals Division’s key growth markets within EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) for mining future facing commodities such as copper are mostly located in Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

“The proposal also includes plans to invest in a new engineering, technology, and sales and service centre nearby. This new facility will consolidate the operations of the Division’s existing Rochdale service centre, with the unaffected roles from Todmorden, on a new modern site.

“If implemented, the proposal would result in the closure of the Todmorden plant by the end of 2025 with production being relocated to other facilities in the EMEA region, including to the Division’s South African foundries in Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg. Should this proceed, Weir is committed to minimising redundancies and providing robust support to affected colleagues during the transition.”