Jobs blow at ‘flagship’

NOV Mono Pumps on Greengate in Chadderton.

A COMPANY which received a £3m government grant towards a £20million expansion programme hailed as a ‘flagship’ in Oldham could soon be axing jobs.

American-owned NOV Mono Pumps moved to the former BAE site in Chadderton in 2013 with grant help from the Regional Growth Fund.

The pumps manufacturer was previously based at a factory in Audenshaw but needed space to grow.

When it moved to the BAE site at Greengate, there were hopes of creating a manufacturing hub there with up to 1,000 new jobs. But the world’s oil industry has since declined, creating uncertainty for jobs and investment across a range of industries.

The Chronicle understands over 30 jobs are now under threat and a consultation period has begun surrounding the potential job losses.

NOV Mono Pumps has so far declined to comment but a trade union, an MP and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities have offered initial statements.

One worker, who wants to be anonymous, said: “We make lots of equipment for oil rigs but because of the slump we are not really selling much. It’s been bad for two years.

“We have been told that 31 redundancies will be made out of 379 staff currently working here. Jobs are being lost across different departments including engineers, drivers and admin staff.

“We all feared something like this would happen. Our shifts had already been changed and our wages have been cut drastically. Some staff are now about £500 a month worse-off.”

The worker added: “In hindsight, if we’d had a crystal ball to predict the future, we would never have moved to the bigger site at Chadderton. Some staff have worked with the company (including predecessor Mono Pumps) all their lives and are approaching retirement. There are a lot of upset people here.”

He claimed the £3million grant was repaid by NOV Mono pumps in March this year because no new staff had been recruited.

Looking to the future, he added: “I’m worried that these job losses will be the tip of the iceberg. Our other UK sites in Gateshead and Montrose have also seen lay-offs,”

The Unite trade union confirmed a 30-day consultation period has started and it is holding talks. The union said it would not comment in detail at this stage, saying only that it has sent a regional officer to Chadderton for negotiations and its’ priority was to save as many jobs as possible.

The Greengate site is privately owned but Oldham Council had worked co-operatively to encourage investment and ensure the site remained an industrial hub.

The pump manufacturer received the £3m grant from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund to be based in Oldham and to expand. The grant came through the Greater Manchester Investment Fund and with help from the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) and Oldham Council.

An Oldham Council spokesman declined to comment , saying that the relocation grant was an AGMA matter.

A spokesman for AGMA, now named the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), said the authority could not say whether the grant had been returned at this time because of commercial confidentiality. “GMCA continues to work closely with NOV Mono pumps at this challenging time for all companies within the oil industry.”

Oldham West MP Jim McMahon was the Leader of Oldham Council in 2013 when the relocation was agreed. At the time, he welcomed the move and said it was vitally important to ensure a firm of NOV Mono’s stature remained in Greater Manchester. He said the council had “worked particularly hard” with AGMA to put the relocation package together.

Commenting on this week’s news of potential job losses, Mr McMahon said: “Securing NOV Mono pumps to the former BAE systems site has a huge bonus for Chadderton and the wider Oldham community. It meant the sites would provide decent, high-skilled engineering and manufacturing jobs. This news is a blow but not the end. We must do all we can to ensure this country has a strong manufacturing and engineering base.”