Almost 100 redundancies at Hull Caravan maker
Atlas Leisure homes says it's not taken the decision lightly
A Hull caravan maker has had to lay off one quarter of its production staff because coronavirus staycation orders have produced a glut in the market, its boss has said.
Atlas Leisure Homes managing director Steven McGawn said materials shortages meant caravans ordered a year ago or more were only now being finished for people who are now finding themselves under financial pressure.
He added the result was that there was too much stock in the market while demand for caravans has waned since the staycation boom.
The company has now made 99 staff, a quarter of those on its production lines, redundant with those affected informed on Friday (May 12) after a 30-day consultation.
Atlas said it was due to a slowdown in the wider caravan market.
East Yorkshire is the centre of Britain’s caravan industry, employing around 4,000 people in Hull alone.
The redundancies come after Atlas saw sales almost double in the last financial year, with turnover rising by around 90 per cent to £71.9m.
Mr McGawn said the upswing in sales came on the back of the coronavirus boom when orders flooded in for caravans from households and holiday parks. But he added the industry had now reached the slump in its cycle.
The managing director said: “It’s with regret that we’ve had to make these redundancies – we’ve been responsible about it and we’ve gone through the proper process.
“We considered going down to a three-day week but that would have been worse for many of our staff who are on minimum wage who would struggle to survive, they’d rather be made redundant so they can look for a job elsewhere.
“We’re not the only ones making redundancies, we’re in the news because we were the first but I know there’s others who are going to lay off staff too. There’s too much stock on the market. Twelve to 18 months ago there was a lot of pent up demand due to coronavirus so we were getting lots of orders in.
“We build to order, at the time we couldn’t get the materials so now those caravans are being built but the people who ordered them are under pressure because of their energy bills and so on.
“Other caravan makers build caravans and just try to sell them when the market’s good but now there isn’t the demand for the ones that are out there.
“We grew very quickly because of the staycations, but it’s not our fault that people don’t want to buy caravans anymore.
“We’re a responsible manufacturer and employer, all the staff have been properly briefed throughout the process. We think what we’ve done has been right for them and for the industry.
“We’ve kept all four of our production lines open. Things might get better or worse but at least if they get better we can start recruiting again.”
Newington and Gipsyville’s Cllr Gill Kennett, whose ward covers one of Atlas’ factories, said she was “appalled” by the news adding they were a sign of the times. The Labour councillor said: “Things can turn on a six pence, one minute people and companies can be doing okay and the next they’re struggling.
“I’m appalled for the people in my ward who will be affected by this. They and everyone are being affected by the energy crisis and the rise in prices for essentials.
“We’ve got people using food banks who never had to use them before and so many of us are just one pay cheque away from devastation.
“My heart goes out to those affected by this, and these conditions are also affecting our small businesses and factories too.”