SKF UK Ltd. (a division of SKF AB, Sweden Stockholm: 5251R9N7) has warned that its Luton industrial bearing manufacturing facility, north of London, may be in for further layoffs.

Already, the plant has been working short weeks and was shut down for a week in early February.
However, demand for the factory's Explorer spherical roller bearings and CARB toroidal roller bearings -- SKF's premier large industrial bearings -- remains weak as heavy industrial, construction and mining markets continue to suffer in the international recession.

SKF said it is, "in consultation," with the workforce and the unions, exploring possibilities for avoiding layoffs as much as possible. The company said those options include continuing the short workweeks, and not replacing workers who retire or quit of their own accord.

Managing Director, Sharon Smith, said: "Although SKF is a global knowledge engineering business, with a diversified portfolio of products and services, we are not immune from the turmoil over the past twelve months in world markets. In particular, our year-on-year volume demand has fallen by around 29% and although there are now signs that the decline in sales may be leveling off, we do not anticipate a significant improvement in overall market conditions for some time."

MD Smith continued: "We have been working closely with our workforce in Luton to minimize the impact of these changes in market conditions and as a result have so far been able to protect a number of jobs that might otherwise have been lost. Unfortunately, the continuing slowdown in demand for the specialized engineering products produced in Luton means that we now have little option but to consider a wider program of redundancies, in order to protect the long-term viability of the operation."

Luton currently employs just 265 workers, down from as many as 1,700 in the early 1980's. Of those 265, approximately 15%, or 34, could potentially be cut.

In 1911, Luton became home to SKF's first overseas manufacturing facility, establishing a plant in Luton's nearby Sundon Industrial Park.