Around 250 jobs are at risk in south Wales after a multi-national company said it was closing its Llanelli site, due to 'uncertainty surrounding Brexit'.

Schaeffler, which supplies automotive and industrial parts all over the world, is to close its Llanelli plant, while retaining its biggest UK base in Sheffield.

The company said it wanted to relocate production to other plants in the US, China, South Korea and Germany.

This means that the Llanelli plant and the one in Plymouth will close within the next two years.

The Llanelli plant, located in Yspitty Road in Bynea, around four miles to the east of the town centre, was established in 1957 and employs around 220 people.

(Image: James Davies Phorography)

Explaining the decision, the company’s Regional CEO for Europe, Juergen Ziegler, said that while Brexit was not the only reason behind the decision to close two sites, it had “brought forward” their decision.

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“A global business needs to regularly review market conditions and strive to optimise its footprint across different regions,” he said.

“The proposed measures we have taken for the UK reflect this business reality. However, we remain committed to keeping certain activities in the UK, a country that will continue to be important to us.

“The changes to our UK footprint are designed to make us more efficient by relocating parts of our production closer to where our products are used.

"What we are planning for the UK delivers on our ‘Agenda 4 plus One’ programme. Brexit is clearly not the single decisive factor behind our decision-making for the UK market, but the need to plan for various complex scenarios has brought forward the timing.”

The German firm currently has a total workforce of just over 1,000 people in the UK, and employs more than 92,000 across the world.

'Transparent and fair discussions with employees'

Bosses said the decision to close the Llanelli site, which mainly produces mechanical tappets and special-purpose bearings for different manufacturers and industrial customers, was an attempt to “reorganise its UK business activities as part of its excellence programme” which includes a global footprint initiative.

Greig Littlefair, managing director of Schaeffler UK, said discussions would now start with employees who worked at both the Llanelli and Plymouth plants.

“We are committed to having transparent and fair discussions with the employees affected by these proposals,” he said.

“We will also ensure our customers continue to be served and that these proposed changes create minimal disruption for them.”