Jobs go as firm moves to Poland

A Devon computer firm has announced the relocation of its distribution centre with the loss of 140 jobs - its entire local workforce.

Esplex, which supplies new and used computer parts to customers worldwide, is moving its spare parts operation from Plymouth to Poland.

The company said operating costs, such as wages and site rental, were much cheaper in Poland.

The first redundancies are likely from July onwards.

In a statement Esplex, which is owned by the Acer Corporation, said: "In order to offer a better customer service level... Acer has decided to relocate its Esplex logistics hubs to one centre in Eastern Europe.

It is far easier to disappear into the sunset and leave behind job loss devastation in England than it is in any other European country

Dave Springbett, Unite union

"This new facility will give Acer the scale it needs to cover more effectively the whole of the region and will therefore require the closure of existing hubs in Plymouth and Angers, France."

Dave Springbett, from the Unite union, said: "This says all I need to know about how easy it is in this country to sack people and just up-sticks and move.

"It is far easier to disappear into the sunset and leave behind job loss devastation in England than it is in any other European country."

Mr Springbett said he represented a "handful" of workers at Esplex, but, as far as he knew, most of the employees were not members of any union.

An official 90-day consultation period with workers begins in March.

Redundancies are likely from the beginning of July, with the whole of the Roborough site closing by the end of the year.

The new Esplex operation will be in the Polish city of Wroclaw, which is already a base for other computer companies including Siemens and Hewlett Packard.