Rolls-Royce to shut Bootle plant
Rolls-Royce has announced it will close its plant in Bootle. The factory, which makes turbines for the oil and gas industries, will close amid fears that the company will shift production to its Mount Vernon plant in the US.
The decision comes after a 90-day consultation during which the 200-strong workforce presented alternative business plans for the profitable plant and local MPs and ministers have intervened with the company on the workers' behalf.
The rental of the decaying Bootle building – said to be £1.7m a year – along with the cost of the upkeep of the decaying building are undoubtedly factors in the company's desire to shift production to Ohio, USA, where, according to workers union Unite, the company pays a peppercorn rent of $1 (50p) a year.
