WELLINGTON firm Pritex has announced 20 redundancies of its nightshift staff.

The WWN revealed last month that 20 employees had been ‘placed at risk of redundancy’.

The firm, which has a 240-strong workforce, was sold in May to Saint Gobain, which employs 180,000 people in 67 countries.

The redundancies at Pritex follow a downturn in the automotive, industrial and furniture/bedding sectors.

Pritex managing director Gareth Jones said: “The last 12 months has been a difficult period for the core industries that Pritex supplies. This has impacted our customers who have seen a reduction in demand for their products – which in turn has fed through and impacted Pritex.

“Sadly, this has meant that we have had to consult with 20 colleagues who form our nightshift about potential redundancy. This consultation process has now ended and unfortunately 20 colleagues will now be made redundant.

“Despite working with those affected colleagues to try to find them other alternatives in the business, including vacancies in our two day shifts, it has not been possible for these colleagues to transfer to other available positions.

“This has been a very difficult decision and we are, of course, extremely grateful to our colleagues for their commitment and dedication while at Pritex and wish them all the very best for the future”.