Rising salaries in such a short space of time had plunged Rearsby into losses. Losing £1m of business to Ford, as a result of my BL boss informing Ford of America, Ford of Europe relied heavily on a BL subsidiary added to those losses. The loss of the piecework system, in an environment better at managing that system than a measured daywork system, led to increased costs of control and a loss of productivity.
These events combined and led to the decision by BL to close Rearsby Components. Alt-hough only 800 redundancies they are added to the score.
I was 'Alright Jack' - I would be found another leading role in BL.
I saw the possibilities in leading an MBO. We would be freed of all the constraints of our parent. It would be easier to sell to other OEMs. We could get rid of BL related costs. We could return to piecework until we devised a better PBR system. We could invest, providing we returned to profitability, to help defray the increased salary costs e.g. in automation to displace jobs/win new business. We would conserve hundreds of jobs and careers of hard working Rearsby colleagues.
The future could be bright!
I requested Sir Michael Edwards’s permission to take the necessary steps to determine if an MBO was possible. This was to disclose confidential Rearsby information to third parties. Such permission was forthcoming. Step 1 achieved.
It was against this background that I and my team, had to raise financial backing.