The five remaining Remploy factories in Scotland are to close their doors for the final time, the UK government has announced.
The businesses affected by the move are the Marine and Frontline Textile factories at Leven, Dundee, Clydebank, Cowdenbeath and Stirling.
The government also said no viable offers had been made for packaging factories in Norwich, Burnley, Portsmouth and Sunderland.
According to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) all 137 disabled workers at the five factories in Scotland would be given tailored support from an £8m package to help with the change to mainstream employment.
Last year, the government revealed plans to close 36 Remploy factories after a review of disability employment support.
The DWP said Remploy would invite expressions of interest to take control of the remaining Remploy factories.
In a statement to the Commons, Work and Pensions Minister Esther McVey said three businesses across nine sites would close, which was likely to result in one third of Remploy’s employees losing their jobs.
Ms McVey said some factories would remain commercially viable; however there were no substantial bids for a number of the factories.
She told the Commons that the people now at risk of unemployment would take part in individual discussions with Remploy.
She said: “Despite having had considerable interest in the Marine and Frontline Textile businesses at Leven, Cowdenbeath, Stirling, Dundee and Clydebank, Remploy did not receive a best and final offer for these businesses as part of the commercial process.
“Additionally, there are no viable bids for the packaging business based at Norwich, Portsmouth, Burnley and Sunderland.”
These sites will now move to closure and all employees at the Packaging, Frontline and Marine Textiles businesses will, in line with Remploy’s redundancy procedures, be invited to at least two individual consultation meetings over the next 30 days to discuss the options and the support that will be available to them.”
The Scottish government said the announcement was “another blow” for the workforce who had been living under the threat of unemployment for more than a year.
Fergus Ewing, Enterprise Minister, said: “Throughout the last year I have urged UK ministers to think again about the process they had undertaken and to consider the impact on the employees, many of whom have worked in Remploy all their adult lives.
“At the most recent meeting of the taskforce I set up last year to advise me on Remploy, members highlighted again the very high levels of stress staff were working under and hoped there would be an early resolution to this matter.”
Mr Ewing said there was a possible buyer for the Scottish factories and the Scottish government would seek to work closely with the organisation to help safeguard as many jobs as possible.
