Thirty staff are axed at Castle

Almost a third of the workforce at Clitheroe’s Castle Cement will go as the firm struggles to come to terms with its "most intense competition for many years." 
 
Around 48 production staff at its Ribblesdale Works will be axed in the next few weeks, taking the number of workers in Clitheroe to just 110. Staff at the cement giant, which employed around 300 staff only four years ago, learned of the redundancies in a letter sent to all employees from the firm’s managing director Peter Weller. 
 
It said there were 140 job losses in total across all parts of the group to meet both Heidelberg Cement Group and Castle Cement targets. 
 
A spokesman for the company said: "Castle Cement is currently facing the most intense competition for many years. 
 
"Only with the lowest costs and high productivity can we maintain our competitiveness and continue to grow. 
 
"There is need for the company to become leaner to adapt to a continually changing market. 
 
"Reducing costs and improving productivity so we can be a leader in the European cement industry will lead to approximately 48 job losses at Castle’s Ribblesdale Works. 
 
"The plans will be discussed and implemented after consultation, which will take place with all relevant parties in the next few weeks."