Shock as Coventry taxi firm announces 70 job losses

The announcement came just 24 hours after Prince Charles visited the new factory in Ansty

Workers at the London Electric Vehicle Company, which builds world famous black cabs, have been told today to expect job losses.

Managers called production staff together this afternoon to inform them of plans to reduce the workforce by 70 - around a fifth of the total headcount.

It comes just 24 hours after Prince Charles was given a guided tour of the plant in Ansty, on the edge of the city.

One production worker, who did not wish to be named, said: "We all knew this was coming, but we didn't know the amount.

"There will be another meeting tomorrow where we will find out the criteria - who is going.

"We knew that this would be announced as soon as Prince Charles had left.

"We have put our heart and soul into that new building for Coventry, to do Coventry proud again.

"There are some brilliant workers there, the management are not fit to run a factory in Coventry.

"The production manager called us all together today and said there were 70 to go.

"They are looking at five weeks until we don't have a job.

"Because it is a new company, 80 per cent of the workers are new.

"The workers from Holyhead Road can carry their service on, but it will all be new workers that go.

"Our prospects are bleak now in Coventry."

A spokesman for the London Electric Vehicle Company said: “2019 will be a challenging year for UK automotive.

"To prepare the business we are reducing the number of agency staff and making productivity improvements.

"We still expect demand for our premium electric taxi to continue to grow over the coming years.”

Black cabs are built by the company, formerly the London Taxi Company based in Holyhead Road, Coundon.

Two years ago, the firm - owned by Chinese car manufacturer Geely, moved production to a brand new factory at Ansty Park.

It was the site of a Royal visit by the Prince of Wales yesterday, who looked around tracks building new zero-emission cabs.

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