Toshiba says to cut British jobs, focus on Poland

LONDON: Japanese electronics giant Toshiba said on Friday that it was cutting 270 jobs in Britain to move production to Poland.

The firm said it was stopping the production of flat-screen televisions at its factory in Plymouth, southwest England.

Just 50 support staff will remain at the plant, whose closure brings down the curtain on 28 years of television set manufacturing in the city.

Andy Bass, managing director of Toshiba Information Systems in Britain, said that centralisation of production made sense in the face of "unprecedented economic pressures."

He said: "We deeply regret the loss of jobs. However, Toshiba has to keep its global manufacturing strategy under constant review in order to compete in a market which has been transformed in recent years by aggressive, price-driven competition.

"We have 28 years of history with Plymouth, and are indebted both to the people who have worked with us over those years, and to the wider local community."

Workers told the Plymouth Herald newspaper that some were in tears after the announcement and believe they will be out of a job by the end of July.

One, who asked not to be named, told the paper: "I'm shocked, they are out of order. There were blokes breaking down."