POLTICIANS vowed to do all they can to help keep a wind turbine plant open in Chepstow.

Steel and bridging manufacturer Mabey Bridge confirmed on Thursday that 150 jobs from its Station Road site are at risk following a review. A 45-day consultation will take place to decide what happens to these posts.

Workers were also told that the company is looking to sell its Newhouse site, where 180 staff are stationed, as a going concern. The company will instead move all of its operations to Lydney, where 140 staff are currently based.

Nick Ramsay, AM for Monmouth, said: “It was quite a shock for me as it was one of those companies that I wouldn’t have expected to be in the front line.

“I hope to facilitate a meeting between the company and Edwina Hart. The Assembly has to make sure that it keeps such a skilled workforce in Wales.

“We have to make sure they have the opportunity to work in Wales. On a recent tour of the site I could see, in how the base of the turbines are put together, that the workforce are extremely skilled.

“It would be a real shame if these workers had to re-skill."

Monmouthshire council’s deputy leader, councillor Bob Greenland, and the council’s chief executive, Paul Matthews, spent most of yesterday morning in meetings with representatives of Mabey Holdings.

Councillor Greenland said: "While clearly being disappointed with the news, we were reassured by the thoughtful approach that the board are taking and the absolute priority that they are attaching to their highly skilled and committed workforce in Chepstow.

"Through a combination of enhanced voluntary redundancy and redeployment within the group, they are looking to mitigate the number of people who will be left without work.

“Very little change is anticipated before March 2015 to employee numbers and a number of existing orders extend production into May 2015 so there is some time, although not very much.

"We are pleased in their confidence levels for selling their state of the art renewables business as a going concern which will clearly be good news as it will safeguard significant numbers of jobs.”

Of the threat to jobs, a Welsh Government spokesman said: “This is very disappointing news and our thoughts are with those affected.

“We will be working with the company to explore ways to assist in the sale of the Newhouse facility to safeguard as many jobs as possible in Wales and to support those employees affected by the closure into retraining or other jobs.”