More staff axed at Penman’s

Sixty staff were made redundant on Thursday, leaving just 15 staff out of the workforce of about 140 who were employed before the Heathhall company went into administration last month.
Offering his reaction, Conservative MSP Oliver Mundell said: “This is bitterly disappointing news and my thoughts are with those workers and families who are affected.
“I have asked Nicola Sturgeon personally for her help at First Minister’s Questions to secure a future for the site as well as talking to the business minister Paul Wheelhouse.
“I have also been in constant contact with Scottish Enterprise to try and find a buyer for the site but what we need now is everyone working together in one final push before the closing date of October 6.”
He added: “I am fully committed to doing all I can to ensure Penman’s has a viable future.”
Mr Mundell’s approach to the First Minister comes after leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council Ronnie Nicholson wrote to Ms Sturgeon asking for help to save scores of jobs.
In his letter to Ms Sturgeon, Councillor Nicholson said: “The loss of skilled jobs including apprenticeships are individual tragedies, but to our local regional economy this is a further blow following on from a number of major recent losses.
“I note with interest the positive news in relation to the reopening of a major steel works in the central belt at Dalzell in Lanarkshire under a deal brokered by the Scottish Government’s Steel Task Force.
“I write to seek your personal assurance that the Scottish Government will similarly intervene to enable a positive future for Penman Engineering and its workforce.”