Portsmouth firm branded "disgusting" as 500 people set to lose jobs and not be paid

Around 500 employees at Formaplex, which supplies lightweight component solutions to the automotive, motorsport, aerospace, medical and defence markets, have today been told they face losing their jobs following the shock announcement by the firm’s owner Elaghmore. The UK private equity fund group only bought Formaplex in 2021 after it had also entered administration back then.

The firm, which has four manufacturing sites in Hampshire - Voyager Park in Portsmouth, Access Point in Cosham, and sites in Horndean and Havant - had been operating for more than 20 years. 

One “annoyed and upset” worker said: “I have just been told I am not getting paid for the month as my company has gone into administration…500 plus staff are losing their jobs.”

Another said: “Formaplex has gone into administration and told employees they will lose their jobs if they can't find a buyer.  Employees were told they would not be paid for any of their January work. 

“Disgusting company behaviour as I'm sure the CEO and high-ups knew about this days or even weeks in advance and will still receive their huge payouts and January pay. Another exploitation of the workers.” 

A spokesperson for Elaghmore, said: “Despite having made a significant investment in Formaplex since we acquired it in 2021, the extremely challenging economic and trading conditions since then have severely impacted the business. The impact of high inflation, the disruption in global supply chains combined with the recent loss of two key customers meant that we reluctantly concluded with the management team that administration was the only option. We understand that there are several parties interested in acquiring the business from the administrator, and we hope Formaplex secures new ownership.”

When Elaghmore took over the business in 2021, 110 staff lost their jobs.