“On Wednesday I spoke with Gurit about job losses on the Island.
“Gurit's 'prepreg' production — where composite fibres are pre-impregnated with resin — is currently done at two sites, its Newport factory and in Albacete, which is in Spain. A large portion of Gurit's prepreg production is consumed in Spain or within close proximity to Spain and the company explained that it made sense to move production there. I told them I was disappointed in the decision, but I do understand the reasons.
“It was made very clear to me that this decision was not related to Brexit. Claims that the decision was are false.
“Gurit have assured me that they are doing what they can to find jobs for those works affected. We have a strong composite industry on the Island and Gurit will work with others to find work for those affected.
“Regarding the future, Gurit says that they are confident. Gurit told me that the Island site is a technical hub for Gurit worldwide, which includes several dozen engineers, technicians and material scientists. Whilst we would want to have as much of Gurit’s work on the Island as possible, due to increased automation of manufacturing, it is better to have the technical, scientific and intellectual property side of the business here."