Thales to leave Wells

By redlight | Friday, May 28, 2010, 13:07

We are sorry to report that Thales, Wells’ last major employer has taken the decision to move away from Wells where it has had a major site for 15 years.

The Wells building has specialist staff on the air operations side and national security and resilience business

The company is a large multi-national concerned with aerospace, space, defence & security with operations in 50 countries and 68,000 employees worldwide.

Looking at the local picture, Mayor Tony Robbins reflected on the taxi firms, cafes, restaurants, hotels and other local businesses which would have a significant portion of their trade collapse saying: “All these small things put together make for quite a big hit on the economy for Wells.”

The firm also employs a lot of local people and this must be a very worrying time for them. The company will start a 90 day consultation period starting May 31st where employees have the opportunity to consider their options which may involve a possible relocation to another of their sites at Templecombe for many and the possibility of relocation to Basingstoke for others.

Commenting on the threat of the 45 minute or hour & 45 minute drives these relocations will result in, Liberal Democrat MP for Wells Tessa Munt said “This clearly would have a huge impact on anyone's lifestyle, and may make it impossible for some to take up this option. There will also be a knock on effect on anyone who works in cleaning, security and catering at the site."

The reason for the move was originally declared that the current building was no longer fit for purpose but later a Thales UK spokeswoman clarified that it was necessary for the company to remain "competitive and responsive to market demands".

Are you going to be affected by the site closure? How will it affect your life here in Wells?