Bosses deny job losses rumour

BOSSES at Royton’s manufacturing giant Money Controls have denied rumours that heavy job losses are on the way at the New Coin Street firm.

It was feared that the 300 plus staff were for the chop, with operations moving to China, but managers said that while a change of location is in the pipeline, it was likely to be much closer to home, with all major operations expected to stay in Oldham.

The 41-year-old firm creates sophisticated technology which can read money in all manner of machinery, including vending machines and parking meters.

The company is a veritable Oldham success story and its expansion into worldwide currencies has won it countless international contracts.

But while business is booming inside, manufacturing director Ken Collett said the 100-year-old mill that they operate from is no longer adequate.

He said: “When foreign visitors come to see us their sat nav directs them up an unadopted potholed road to an old building and it simply doesn’t give the right impression.A change of location to another part of the town is something we’ve been looking at for a while now.”

Money Controls bosses are expected to put in an application to the council’s planning department, with a view to gaining outline permission to build homes on the site and sell the land on to a developer to finance a move.

Money Controls, which used to operate as Coin Controls, has had a branch in China for the last 10 years, but Mr Collett is adamant that the firm’s head office and manufacturing work is fully at home in Oldham.

He said: “Money Controls are very committed to Oldham and will continue to keep a significant presence here.”

Mr Collett admitted that a maximum of 20-30 jobs production jobs could go next year, but that was linked to the economic downturn