Aberdeen Engineering Firm Enters Administration, Laying Off All 53 Staff

Glacier Energy Manufacturing Limited, an Aberdeen-owned engineering firm, has entered administration, with all 53 employees made redundant, GB News reported. The company operated facilities in England, including the Stockton-on-Tees site that previously traded as Francis Brown and was acquired through a pre-pack administration deal in August 2024.

The parent company stated that despite efforts to turn around the business, market challenges and the current fiscal regime had reduced activity levels in the North Sea oil and gas market, while new energy markets have been slow to materialise.

The firm has been impacted by a significant decline in sector activity. Redundancy payouts in Britain reached £477 million in 2025, GB News reported, as the unemployment rate hit 5.2 per cent toward the end of that year. Energy & Utilities Alliance chief executive Mike Foster argued that extending North Sea gas licences should be a priority for Labour.

Foster said a truly progressive energy policy must protect workers during the transition and not leave whole communities behind. He added that extending licences under strict conditions would support managing change responsibly while protecting national resilience and accelerating Britain's clean-energy future.