Lexmark is to shut its only inkjet cartridge factory in the UK but has refuted a BBC report that attributed cutbacks to falling worldwide demand for its cartridges.
Lexmark?s factory in Rosyth, Scotland is to axe 500 jobs in April, with the remaining 200 jobs expected to go by the end of the year when the factory closes.
Lexmark?s UK spokesman Tom Cassidy hit out at a BBC News online report published on 24 January which stated that Lexmark planned to shed 1,400 jobs worldwide due to a ?decline in demand? for its cartridges.
But he admitted that the company faces strong competition from other suppliers. Cassidy blamed the UK plant closure on high production costs which he described as ?enormous? compared to countries such as Malaysia and the Phillipines where Lexmark also has cartridge factories.
The Rosyth factory is the smallest of Lexmark?s inkjet cartridge factories and has been open for more than ten years.
