ENGINEERING firm Mabey Bridge is to shed up to 45 jobs in the second round of redundancies this year at its wind turbine factory in Chepstow.

The company, which at the turn of the year employed 190 staff at its Newhouse Farm site, cut staff in February, but has been forced into more job losses.

“We regret having to make this difficult decision. As a family business we are actively seeking ways to redeploy, retrain and move work between our businesses to minimise any job losses during this period,” said a spokesman.

The company, part of the Mabey Group, bought the Newhouse site three and a half years ago, developing it as a manufacturing base for wind turbine towers, through a £38 million investment.

“The UK renewables market has become increasingly competitive, with product now supplied from mainland Europe and even further afield,” said the spokesman.

“Our customers have also been affected by a drop in the level of government support for onshore wind.

“Earlier this year we did take steps to improve our shift working patterns and operational flexibility at Newhouse, with every effort made to minimise impact on the workforce.

“After consulting staff, 13 jobs were unfortunately affected. Although these changes boosted output, further improvements are still required to keep us competitive.

It is anticipated that these further steps could potentially affect 25 to 45 jobs.

“The business remains committed to the renewables and energy sector and we continue to win new orders for wind turbine towers.

But like many other UK companies we must take steps to ensure we can compete effectively in the marketplace.”

The company has stressed that its other factories, another in Chepstow, and in Lydney, are not affected by this decision.