Engineering firm cuts 440 posts

Workers at Renishaw were put on a four-day week in February Renishaw share price

Some 440 jobs are being cut worldwide by Gloucestershire-based engineering group Renishaw, it has been announced.

A spokesman said 308 of the job losses would be within Gloucestershire itself and a further 12 were still at risk.

Bosses, who said they hoped to re-employ some of the staff at a later date, have started a database to keep them updated on former staff.

Workers at the Wotton-Under-Edge plant had been put on a four-day week in February.

Renishaw said sales had been particularly affected by the fall in demand for capital goods in sectors such as car making, which it believes is not likely to recover in the short term.

Renishaw founder and Chief Executive Sir David McMurtry told BBC News he remained optimistic.

"The good news is it isn't as bad as some people thought and we have some good news coming from China as there is more activity there.

"We've been through several recessions but this time it was the depth and the speed and the amount of turnover we lost."

The company employs 2,240 people around the world with most of its 1,500-strong UK workforce based at four sites in Gloucestershire.

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