Job cuts at Scottish weaver of luxury accessories as demand slows

Alex Begg, a Scottland-based weaver of luxury accessories supplying fashion companies including Mulberry and Vivienne Westwood, is to cut jobs at its headquarters in Ayr.

The 153 year-old weaving company will make 10 percent of its 150 person workforce redundant and this week confirmed layoffs were inevitable.

A consultation with staff and representatives is thought to be underway with parent company Moorbrook textiles, reported the BBC, as the decision to reduce staff was due to a “softening” in demand, said chief executive Ian Laird.

Laird said in a statement “over recent years we have grown the business considerably through our focus on creativity, new product development and giving great service to customers. We had expected this growth to continue in line with our recent history and yet the uncertainty around Brexit and other global trade has seen a slowdown in overall demand.”

“The impact for our business is that we have less activity than we expected for this year and the outlook into next year shows little prospect of return to significant growth.” He said this meant that the firm’s cost base was too high for its anticipated volume of output.”

“We regret being in the position where such choices need to be made, but we believe that the business has a good long-term future and it is therefore important that we take the right decisions protecting the shorter term. We will continue to invest in developing new products to drive the return to profitable growth of the business.”

Begg & Co was established in the Scottish town of Paisley in 1866 and has been at the forefront of weaving ever since its founder Alex Begg started producing woolen shawls with a small team of trusted local weavers.

In 1902 the company relocated to Ayr on Scotland’s south-west coast, a move that allowed Begg the space to invest in new machinery, and begin to develop a range of cutting-edge, exploratory weaving techniques.