Aston Martin job cuts spark row over £18.8m ‘wasted’ public money

Chris Haines – ICNN Senedd reporter

The Welsh Government is facing calls to justify £18.8m in public funding given to Aston Martin, with more than 100 jobs reportedly under threat at its St Athan plant.

Rebecca Evans, Wales’ economy secretary, confirmed the Welsh Government will “consider whether any repayment is appropriate” following the “deeply worrying” news.

Samuel Kurtz, the Conservatives’ shadow economy secretary, pointed out that the Welsh Government provided Aston Martin £18.8m between 2016 and 2021. He said the funding was related to job creation, skills training, and research and development.

He told Senedd members: “That £18.8m could potentially be wasted money if these jobs are lost at that St Athan site, so what… markers are being used by the Welsh Government when determining to support businesses like Aston Martin with taxpayers’ money?”

Mr Kurtz asked his opposite number: “If the reports are right and we do see job losses at St Athan then what was this money used for?”

Ms Evans confirmed the Welsh Government has provided £18.8m linked to jobs targets, to support Aston Martin in establishing a base in Wales, as well as covid-related funding.

She said: “As is the case with all Welsh Government support, there are clear conditions to the assistance that Aston Martin has received and we will consider whether any repayment is appropriate but, of course, we can’t do that until the outcome of the consultation is known.”

During today’s (November 12) topical questions, Plaid Cymru’s Luke Fletcher expressed concerns about reports of the plans to slash more than 100 job in St Athan.

Mr Fletcher pointed to job losses across Wales more widely, with figures showing 6,000 fewer people on company payrolls in Wales compared with previous months.

He said: “The skills at St Athan, the workforce at St Athan are incredibly and absolutely crucially important to the future of the Welsh economy.”

Ms Evans, who visited St Athan recently, told Senedd members the Welsh Government has a long-standing relationship with the James Bond car manufacturer.

“We have close contact with them at this time,” she said. “Equally, we’re in close contact with the union which is making strong representations on behalf of the workforce as well.”

‘Tried and tested’

She added: “There really isn’t much more detail I can share today other than to say… there have been a number of situations where there have been… job losses in Wales and when those situations do arise, the Welsh Government has a tried-and-tested approach.”

Ms Evans stressed: “It is early days at the moment, we haven’t heard publicly how many workers might be affected. There’s a consultation process that now has to take place.”

Conservative Andrew RT Davies highlighted that 170 jobs were lost across the Aston Martin group in an earlier round of redundancies in the spring.

The former Tory group leader pointed to pressure points for the company including US tariffs and shrinking penetration in Asian markets.

The US has imposed a 25% tariff on car imports – on top of a 2.5% levy – but a lower 10% rate applies to the first 100,000 cars brought into the country.

Mr Davies called for Aston Martin to get its fair share of the 100,000 quota, asking whether the firm has requested any financial assistance from the Welsh Government.

‘Eaten up’

Ms Evans stressed it remains “early days” but she agreed on the importance of US quotas.

She told the Senedd: “Although we did welcome the tariff reduction that has been secured for our automotive trade with the US, we’ve always said the quota arrangements might be difficult for companies such as Aston Martin in terms of their ability to grow and export.

“Particularly because they are high-end, low-volume cars and, obviously, the concern is that that 100,000 quota will get eaten up by the high-volume car producers.”

The economy secretary said her officials are in ongoing talks with UK Government counterparts about ensuring a more level-playing field. She suggested UK ministers could negotiate improved conditions with the US, similar to those agreed with the EU and Japan.

In 2016, ministers entered into a 30-year deal with Legal and General to guarantee rental payments for the St Athan superhangar, according to written ministerial answers.

Aston Martin, which is stock exchange-listed and valued at about £600m, has been insolvent or rescued from the brink of collapse about seven times in its 112-year history.