Toshiba cuts 270 UK jobs, and ends TV manufacturing in Britain

Toshiba TVs

Production will be moved to the company's factory in Kobierzyce, Poland, with 50 staff being retained at Ernesettle to provide engineering and manufacturing back-up for the Polish plant, and handle the refurbishment of returned products.

Andy Bass, MD of Toshiba Information Systems (UK) Ltd, said the company “deeply regrets” the job losses. “We have 28 years of history with Plymouth, and are indebted both to the people who have worked with us over those years, and to the wider community.

"Toshiba has to keep its global manufacturing strategy under constant review in order to compete in a market which has been transformed in recent years by aggressive, price-driven competition.

“Two years ago we invested in a major LCD TV factory in Poland, supplying European products in tandem with the Plymouth factory. With the rapidly-changing global market, and with the unprecedented economic pressures we face, it makes strategic sense to centralise production management under one roof.”

The company said headquarters in Japan had decided to centralise European TV production at its factory in Poland, as part of a drive to save money.