Two months after employees at Mark Wilkinson Furniture and Smallbone of Devizes thought their jobs had been saved the new owner of the companies has announced that there will be up to 100 redundancies.
Leo Caplan
A reduced sales forecast for both luxury furniture companies has resulted in the decision to reduce the 437 workforce.
Leo Caplan, owner of the Canburg Group, bought Mark Wilkinson Furniture, based in Bromham, and Smallbone of Devizes, based on the Hopton Industrial Estate, in March after the holding company, Smallbone plc, went into administration. Mr Caplan declined to buy Hopton Works, part of the Smallbone Group, which resulted in the loss of 32 jobs.
Mr Caplan warned at the time of the purchase of Mark Wilkinson Furniture and Smallbone of Devizes that he could not rule out redundancies.
Today Mr Caplan said production and administrative functions of the two brands would be rationalised on to one site to minimise duplication and reduce costs.
He said the combined sales forecast for 2009 for Smallbone and Mark Wilkinson is below 2008 levels.
The company has begun a consultation with the employees at Smallbone and Mark Wilkinson.
Mr Caplan said in a statement: "After a thorough strategic review of both Smallbone and Mark Wilkinson we have had to take the tough but necessary decision to rationalise our core functions of manufacturing and administration.
"This immediate action will secure the future for most of our employees and ensure that we continue to be a household hame in British design and manufacturing.
"As I said at the time of acquiring these businesses we have the potential to become the leading specialist furniture brand in the world, creating bespoke furniture suitable for every area of today's lifestyle extending our reach way beyond the kitchen. This remains my vision for the group and the necessary steps we have taken today will ensure that we are able to achieve just this."
A worker at Smallbone told the Gazette that the employees at both sites were told the news at 10am this morning.
He said: "We are just worried again for our jobs, especially at Smallbone as people were made redundant here last year although I understand that workers at Mark Wilkinson are more worried than we are. There's talk of 80 jobs going at Mark Wilkinson and ten going at Smallbone."