Staff at Kodak UK’s headquarters in Hertfordshire were this afternoon summoned to a meeting in which the firm’s CEO Antonio Perez told them, via an audio link with the US, that it was ‘business as normal’.
The news follows confirmation that Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection in New York earlier today.
Amateur Photographer (AP) understands that all employees at Kodak’s Hemel Hempstead base were asked to attend the session.
A Kodak Limited spokesperson told AP: ‘It’s business as usual. It [the bankruptcy protection] is only filed in the US. Everyone is carrying on… We have been told it’s not going to affect us.’
In a separate statement, Philip Cullimore, Kodak’s managing director for Europe added: ‘In Europe we have seen a significant shift towards business-to-business imaging applications, and are weighted towards printing. These businesses in Europe are performing well and growing fast.’
Kodak employs around 5,000 staff in the UK; at Hemel Hempstead, Harrow (north-west London), Kirkby near Liverpool and Annesley in Nottinghamshire.
There have been reports that the move may have an impact on some Kodak UK staff pension funds.
In a statement regarding the Kodak Pension Plan, Kodak Ltd stressed that the ‘plan continues and benefits will be paid as normal’.
It added: ‘Like many UK-defined benefit pension schemes, Kodak’s plan currently has a shortfall of assets in relation to its liabilities, and it has been affected by some of the same factors as other schemes.
‘A long-term recovery plan is in place between the Trustees and Kodak Limited.’
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