FEARS have been raised that Scottish jobs are at risk following the £560 million takeover of John Menzies.
The Edinburgh-based firm is likely to be sold to a Kuwaiti company after bosses confirmed they planned to accept an offer from National Aviation Services (NAS), a subsidiary of Agility Public Warehousing.
But news the company – which has been headquartered in Scotland since 1833 – is set to be taken over has sparked fears jobs could be lost.
Gavin Newlands, the SNP’s spokesperson for transport, has taken on the company previously over its use of “fire and rehire” but said he would “still prefer the company to remain headquartered and controlled here in Scotland”.
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He has demanded an urgent meeting with bosses to seek assurances Scottish jobs would not be at risk from a takeover.
“With aviation still recovering from the impact of the pandemic, it’s crucial the industry has stability and a chance to regain the ground lost and anything which has the potential to jeopardise that recovery has to be examined closely,” he said.
“I’ve asked today for an urgent meeting with Menzies management to discuss these proposals and what they mean for the workforce here in Scotland.
“Above all we need guarantees that the skilled and loyal workforce who have – despite the previous actions of Menzies – worked hard to secure a future for their company, continue to have roles with the firm and will continue to play a major part in its plans to come.”
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Menzies has previously rejected two offers from Agility to take over the company but the board is willing to accept the new offer which has been upped by around £90m.
The deal relies on Agility and NAS getting a sign-off from the authorities.
“Accordingly, the board is in discussions with NAS in relation to these terms and will be providing NAS with access to management and due diligence information,” the board said.
“NAS has confirmed to the board that the financial terms of the Final Proposal are final and will not be increased,” it added – although this could change if someone else tries to take over John Menzies.
Founded nearly 200 years ago as a bookshop, John Menzies moved into news distribution before finally transforming into an airport services firm through a series of acquisitions since the 1980s and the sale of the distribution arm in 2018.
Today it handles cargo, planes on the ground and fuelling, and employs thousands of people in 37 different countries.
John Menzies declined to comment further.
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