Jobs Lost as Two Scottish Firms Enter Administration

Two Scottish companies, one a paper making business from Fife and the other a subsea dredging specialist based in Aberdeen, have both entered administration after struggling with a variety of financial pressures.

Fife-based Tullis Russell’s entry into administration will result in the loss of 325 jobs and put a further 149 people’s employment at risk. The company has seen its export levels fall in recent years with exchange rates between UK and European currencies hurting demand from Eurozone economies.

The paper maker has also seen its operating margins squeezed with the rising costs of raw materials essential to its operations and by the insolvency of a key client company.

In the wake of announcements about Tullis Russell’s entry into administration, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said her government will establish a taskforce designed to help people who’ve lost their jobs find work elsewhere in the region.

“I am very concerned to learn of the job losses at Tullis Russell in Markinch. This will be a deeply anxious time for the workers, their families and the local community,” Sturgeon said.

“Scottish Enterprise officials are working with the company right now to explore all possible avenues for support but given the potential impact of this news, I am announcing the immediate formation of a taskforce.”
Elsewhere, Aberdeen-based subsea dredging and excavation company X-Subsea Holdings has also entered administration this week, with 20 jobs being lost as a result. The business was left with only a single contract to work on after a fall in demand for its services.

A central problem for X-Subsea in recent months has been the loss of support from its parent company Reef Subsea AS, which entered into insolvency proceedings of its own earlier this year in Norway, where the company was based.

Buyers are now being sought for the business and assets of X-Subsea, which had established a position as one of the UK’s leading designers of subsea, non-contact excavation tools.

The recent demise of Reef Subsea AS resulted in the entry into administration of Specialist Subsea Services (S3), another Aberdeen-based company involved in the same sector as X-Subsea. S3’s entry into administration in February resulted in the loss of 77 jobs.