HUNDREDS of drivers are in for a shock after a major car garage has shut is third outlet in one area as part of a national cull.
ATS Euromaster has confirmed three closures in Devon and Cornwall.
The ATS Euromaster service centre in Plympton, Plymouth[/caption]
ATS has said it is axing a number of locations due to soaring costs and a review of its operations[/caption]
The Michelin-owned company shuttered three of its service centres in Devon over the past couple of days as it looks to cull over a third of its outlets.
ATS centres in Plymouth, Exeter and Newton Abbot have all shut up shop.
These locations no longer appear on the car garage company’s website but for now, there are still a number of centres drivers can go to.
Sites in Barnstaple, Crediton, Kingsbridge, Okehampton, Tavistock, Tiverton and Torquay are still open for business.
But, ATS has marked numerous locations for closure with other areas already being impacted.
Cornwall has lost two garages – one in Truro and another in Penzance.
Meanwhile, other closures across the UK have been reported including in Brecon and Macclesfield.
It comes as the company reviews its operations model and looks towards an increase in mobile servicing.
ATS has slated 86 centres for possible closure due to poor growth, soaring costs and overcapacity, according to Fleet News.
This could impact around 400 jobs, the news outlet stated.
Rival Halfords could help soak up some of this damage.
For those who worked at the now closed ATS branches in Devon and Cornwall, Halfords has offered interviews to all staff members who lost their jobs.
The country’s top motoring services provider has also told drivers it is on hand to customers who have lost their local ATS services.
Halfords has said it will prioritise MOT and service bookings that were made with ATS where possible, according to Cornwall Live.
Chris Rose, Halfords’ divisional director, said: “We are pleased to be working in partnership with ATS to explore employment opportunities for affected colleagues, while also ensuring that motorists in these parts of Devon and Cornwall continue to have access to competitive, convenient, and trusted automotive services.”
Before the closures, ATS operated over 235 locations across the country.
An ATS spokesperson said in a statement: “In a UK automotive aftermarket context of overcapacity, increasing costs and sluggish activity and growth, ATS Euromaster intends to review its current operating model and has put in place a proposal to close non profitable service centres.
“Employees impacted by this proposal are under consultation.
“In the meantime, our priority is to provide them with the best level of support as possible.”
“This decision will not impact the high quality of services that we offer to our customers,” the statement added.
“We intend that it enables us to concentrate our efforts on strategic levels for sustainable development, including services around ATS mobile capabilities and the shaping of a franchise model already successfully developed in several countries.”
