Fury as firm files for liquidation

Tn TT

- CONOR GOGARTY investigations editor

The Unimetals site in Newport

ONE of the UK’s biggest scrap metals firms has filed for compulsory liquidation leaving 650 jobs at risk.

Workers at Unimetals Recycling’s two sites in Wales feel let down by the news after being “left in the dark” over recent weeks, according to a source close to the Newport operation.

Unimetals, which is headquartered in Stratford-upon-Avon, operates 28 UK sites including in Newport and the Neath Port Talbot village of Skewen. The owners filed a winding-up petition on Monday after failing to find a buyer.

A source close to the site at Newport's Alexandra Dock told us: “None of the workers knew what was going on as it’s been going through bidding as investors had backed out of the deal to buy the company.

“A meeting was held at 3pm on Friday and by 4pm the gates were locked. Workers were told not to come back on Monday. They've put security on site and shut the gates so no one can access the premises.