600 jobs and three plants to go as Visteon shuts UK subsidiary

Visteon, which designs – engineers and manufactures climate, interior, electronic and lighting products for vehicle manufacturers – said the move would affect three UK manufacturing operations. Visteon UK includes plants in Basildon, Belfast and Enfield that employ around 600 people, the plants manufacture automotive interiors, climate and powertrain components. Other Visteon operations, including Visteon Engineering Services which employs some 400 people at Visteon’s UK customer and technology centres, are not affected. Visteon Corporation CEO Donald Stebbins said: “Visteon is committed to taking decisive actions in view of the current challenging operating environment to protect the long-term viability of the business. Despite extensive restructuring efforts, the UK plants have continued to incur substantial losses. Regrettably, having exhausted all options, the Visteon UK Ltd board of directors had no alternative but to file for administration. “Addressing the unfavourable financial performance of our UK manufacturing operations is an important step in positioning the company for future success. Visteon maintains strong engineering, development and services capabilities in the UK, and continues to serve global vehicle manufacturers through our broad manufacturing and engineering resources throughout Europe.” KPMG has been appointed to handle the administration. The group has corporate offices in Van Buren Township, Michigan; Shanghai, China; and Basildon, UK. It has facilities in 27 countries and employs approximately 33,500 people.