Dawson staff left in limbo

Thousands of retired Scottish workers faced uncertainty last night after a textile manufacturer failed in an attempt to deal with a potential £100million-plus pension deficit.

Employees of luxury knitwear producer Dawson International were effectively left in limbo after the firm’s plea to join the Pension Protection Fund was rejected – a move that sent shares in the firm into freefall which closed at 52p, down 45%.The situation could affect thousands of workers in Perthshire and Fife as the company had its headquarters at Kinross for decades before moving to Hawick in the Borders last year as part of a cost-cutting exercise.

The company said yesterday it could not understand the PPF’s decision and said the firm’s future was now uncertain.

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