White Knight Laundry Services has ceased production at its Haslemere, Surrey, plant.
Colin Dawe, White Knight Group managing director, said: “On several occasions over recent years the company has been forced to transfer production from the Haslemere laundry to other locations within the White Knight Group. This action has been brought about by our inability to recruit and retain production staff in sufficient numbers to satisfactorily meet the expectations of our customers.” He added: “During the last six months, the situation has worsened and news regarding the development of a major grocery store in the town does not augur well for recruitment in the future.
“In addition to our staffing difficulties, the unit has been incurring substantial trading losses and despite the efforts of management and staff to improve efficiencies and reduce costs the situation remains unacceptable.” Drycleaning shops at Wey Hill and Midhurst are not affected by the company’s decision, and arrangements were made to transfer the collection, delivery and processing of laundry work to alternative sites within the group.
