An electronics giant has announced job losses at its Newton Aycliffe factory after orders started to fall away.

In a letter to employees seen by The Northern Echo, Coherent, which manufactures electronics for communications and aerospace & defence clients from a huge site at Aycliffe Business Park, said: "A fall in business demand is prompting a restructuring of operations with a focus on reducing costs. As a result, the company expects to reduce its Newton Aycliffe workforce by more than 100 employees by 31 May 2023.

"The company will also conduct a strategic assessment to determine the future of the facility."

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There are no details of how far that review could go, but the company - which used to be known as II-VI before it took over Coherent - confirmed the claims to The Northern Echo:

"Coherent Corp. confirms that it announced to employees at its manufacturing plant in Newton Aycliffe, U.K., that a fall in business demand is prompting a restructuring of operations with a focus on reducing costs," said a company spokesperson.

"As a result, the company expects to reduce its local workforce by more than 100 employees by June 2023. The company will conduct a strategic assessment to determine the future of the facility.

 

 

"The employees were informed on February 23, 2023, in all-hands meetings conducted by company management. With that announcement, the company began the formal collective consultation process with employee representatives as required by UK.law."

In its earlier letter, the company had told workers: "We will do our best to find alternatives to redundancy where possible. We are open-minded about alternatives to redundancy and will consider all feasible options. But these are difficult circumstances and the options are likely to be limited.

"It is a matter of great regret that there are possible job losses."

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Coherent Corp. is a global leader in materials, networking, and lasers for the industrial, communications, electronics, and instrumentation markets. The company is headquartered in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 to manufacture high-quality materials and optics for industrial lasers. Today, the company operates in more than 20 countries around the world.