The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Scotland; Eastern Scotland; Clackmannanshire and Fife
Location of affected unit(s)
Guardbridge
Sector
Manufacturing Manufacture Of Wood And Paper Materials Manufacture Of Paper And Paper Products 17.23 - Manufacture of paper stationery
180 - 260 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
24 July 2008
Employment effect (start)
24 July 2008
Foreseen end date
Description
Curtis Fine Papers, a paper mill based in Guardbridge near St Andrews in Fife, has announced that it is to cease production. Of the 260 staff who work at the site, 180 have been made redundant with immediate effect, with a skeleton staff of 80 remaining at the company. The company has been in existence for 135 years, and was taken over in a management buy-out in 2006. As of 27 July 2008 there is no further information as to when the remaining 80 staff may be made redundant.
The administrator, Blair Nimmo of KPMG, stated ‘It is with regret that we have had to make substantial redundancies across Curtis Fine Papers operations and we are working with government agencies to ensure the employees' issues are dealt with as best as possible.’
Local MP Ming Campbell and MSP Iain Smith have requested a meeting with the company’s Finance Director to discuss whether the Scottish Government could help keep the mill as a going concern or find new jobs for the workers. In a joint statement, they said ‘This is a devastating blow for Guardbridge and the local economy. The paper mill has been a major employer for more than 100 years and it is deeply concerning that 180 jobs have been lost with immediate effect and another 80 threatened. We will also be seeking an urgent meeting with KPMG to explore the prospects for salvaging jobs at the mill.’
Eurofound (2008), Curtis Fine Papers, Closure in United Kingdom, factsheet number 66911, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/66911.
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