Car part plant prepares to close

A car components plant in Shrewsbury is to close next week, with the loss of about 40 jobs.

Leoni Wiring Systems said the factory at Henley Way, Harlescott, was no longer commercially viable.

But the company said up to 30 of its 65 staff would be moving to its other plant in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Leoni has been running down production in Shrewsbury since it announced the closure in January, blaming market pressures.

The firm said it had been forced to transfer work overseas.

The closure has prompted Shrewsbury MP Paul Marsden to call on the government to bring more manufacturing jobs to Shropshire.

He says about 400 have been lost since Labour came to power.