Jobs at risk as Essilor focuses on digital

Up to 50 jobs could be lost at Essilor's Thornbury manufacturing facility near Bristol as the company focuses on investing in digital surfacing technology and the creation of a UK Centre of Excellence.

Senior management entered a consultation period with workers and staff representatives on June 11 over a proposal to turn the Thornbury site from a traditional surfacing laboratory into a digital surfacing platform that will focus on the manufacturer's high end brands and lens products such as the Varilux S Series.

Essilor UK & Ireland group HR director Michael Doolin said many of the 50 staff whose jobs were at risk were on fixed term or agency-based contracts. In addition, he said up to half could take voluntary redundancy and that it was hoped compulsory redundancies would be kept to a minimum. Staff reductions were planned to be finalised by July 31, but certain roles could remain until the end of the year.