I WAS sad to see that Coopervision is cutting 200 jobs, although it’s good to see they remain committed to maintaining their manufacturing base locally.
I worked in an agency job at Coopervision for a while, and like many local manufacturing companies they rely heavily on eastern European workers.
And for eastern European citizens living in our city, often working without the protection of permanent contracts, and worried by Brexit, this is a particularly uncertain time.
Many eastern Europeans have made Southampton their home. They pay council tax, their children go to our city’s schools, and they often do the jobs that British people won’t do. And i’m proud to have friends in the many diverse communities that make up our modern and inclusive city.
Although the sites concerned are outside the city boundaries, many Coopervision staff live in Southampton. And my thoughts are with my Polish, English, Bulgarian, Latvian, Romanian, Portugese, and Lithuanian former colleagues.
I hope Southampton reaches out to all those affected by the job losses at Coopervision - whatever their nationality.
Jon Walters
Southampton
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