Jobs to go at Newcastle engineers Michell Bearings less than a year after acquisition

Jobs are in jeopardy at Newcastle engineering business Michell Bearings less than a year after it was acquired by British Engines for more than £12m. British Engines finalised a deal to buy Michell Bearings, a marine company based in the city’s west end, at the end of last year, for around £12.5m, making it the group’s seventh engineering company in the North East. Now, after a business review which followed the acquisition, directors have announced a proposal to reduce the workforce. It is understood that around 28 redundancies are set to be made. A spokeswoman for Michell Bearings said: “It is with regret that on Friday we announced to our workforce a proposal to reduce the head count within the business. “We have started consultation on this proposal and it would be inappropriate for us to comment any further at this time.” The firm invented the hydrodynamic bearing more than 100 years ago, and now designs and manufacturers the bearings for the marine and industrial sectors. Michell Bearings also owns a 51% shareholding in Michell Bearings (India) Pvt Ltd, a non-wholly owned subsidiary company based in Bangalore. When the firm was bought up by British Engines, the deal also included the acquisition of the Rolls-Royce Training School on Scotswood Road, and around 200 jobs were involved.