Gateshead rail tech firm reveals 40% workforce reduction amid restructuring costs

A North East security technology firm has revealed that 40 per cent of its workforce was cut during the pandemic.

Petards, which is based in Gateshead and manufactures security systems and CCTV used on trains, reduced the workforce of its EyeTrain tech operation by 40 per cent in 2020.

The redundancies were made as part of the company’s cost alignment programme, which incurred restructuring costs of £425k.

This came as the company’s turnover dropped by 17 per cent, falling from £15.7m to £13m.

Raschid Abdullah, chairman of Petards, commented: “Covid-19, lockdown, outworking and furlough led to considerable uncertainty in the workplace and in this Petards was no different.

“Necessary cuts in the number of employees have been made and sadly, people have left the business under the reorganisation.

“Against this background what can be said is that the performance of the businesses throughout 2020 and into 2021 is a reflection of the professionalism and the support provided by personnel at all levels, including those who knew they would be leaving as a consequence.

“The group entered 2021 in good shape with a reduced cost base and a strong, cash positive balance sheet.

“The first four months of 2021 have started well with all businesses broadly in line or slightly ahead of management expectations in terms of profitability, and revenues are anticipated to be weighted towards the first half of the year.

“On December 31, 2020, the group’s order book stood at over £12m, of which £10m is forecast to be delivered this year giving the board confidence that 2021 will prove to be a better year for the group.”

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