Mahle plant in Kilmarnock Bosses at Mahle Group are planning to scrap a further 18 jobs at the company’s Riccarton site, the Kilmarnock Standard can exclusively reveal. And in a double blow for the future of the plant, the Standard can also reveal that machinery is being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Concerns are now growing for the future of the engineering firm in the town. In January almost 200 workers were laid off from the former Glacier Metal site, with 170 staff members and 42 agency workers made redundant. Management at the German company blamed a “continued difficult” market and “overcapacity in the area” of bearings production. Speaking to the Standard this week, one worker said he doesn’t think the company will remain in the area for much longer. The worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “It feels like our coats are all on a shoogly peg. “A lot of workers were forced into two weeks off recently, and it wasn’t their fault – management told us they had to realign the order book. Basically that means there’s been a reduction in hours because there’s not enough work.” Staff at the site were told recently that 18 positions would be closed, with the door opened for voluntary redundancies. Following the deadline for voluntary applications this week, the company will engage in a consultation period with unions, before workers are let go on September 30. But bosses at Mahle played down the concerns over job cuts and the auction of machinery, saying the Kilmarnock site is vital to their global operations. A company spokesman added: “The production of bearings and bushings in Kilmarnock ceased in January of this year. As a consequence, idle equipment from this department has been put on the market and is available for purchase. “Materials production and racing bearing production are not affected by this machine sale and will continue. We have no plans to close down the Kilmarnock site.” MSP Willie Coffey said it was “still very sad to see perfectly good equipment and staff that have served the company well being discarded when they could still do a good job for the company”. As well as the threat of redundancy, workers are fighting for a wage increase, with bosses offering them a measly one per cent increase over two years. The Standard’s source added: “We managed to get that up to one-and-a-half per cent with a one-off ￡250 payment.” Workers also got the company to agree to a starter redundancy package of ￡4500 after they suggested a starting point of just ￡2500 for workers, irrespective of time served. Brian Whittle MSP told the Standard his attempts to organise a visit to the site to establish future plans for Mahle in Kilmarnock were rejected. The Conservative MSP added: “I also asked for some clarification in a phone call and again there was no information offered. “Attracting and maintaining business to the area is crucial for the local economy and I will therefore continue to monitor and seek clarification on the situation.” Sold several times over the last two decades, the Riccarton site has existed since 1947 and at its peak had around 3000 workers. Mahle took over control from the Dana Corporation in 2007. Workers in Kilmarnock make bearings, bushes and thrust washers for major clients in the vehicle industry, including BMW and Ford, as well as the Formula One industry. Mahle makes a wide range of engine-related components for the automotive industry. The German-owned company employs 47,500 workers in around 100 production and development centres worldwide. The 18-acre site is now home to just over 200 workers in the materials and racing departments, however, staff and union reps believe this is not a big enough workforce to sustain the site, with some expecting it to be mothballed in the near future. Another Standard source added: “They will move more work over to Slovakia and Italy. They’ve been starving us of work for ages, sending it all over to Slovakia – now they want to put us to the sword. “They’re looking to centralise and I reckon there’s 16-18 months work left for the materials department.” Current entries booked for auction include presses; machine tools, deburring machines, grinders; and parts washing / cleaning machinery. It also includes plating lines; heat treatment plant; overhead travelling cranes and hoists; material handling and storage equipment; and electron microscope and measuring equipment.