Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
500 FACING AXE IN DARK DAY FOR ULSTER JOBS
THE proposed loss of hundreds of manufacturing jobs was yesterday described as a “hammer blow for Northern Ireland”.
Oil and gas services supply company Schlumberger is considering closing its Newtownabbey plant, at the cost of 220 staff.
While Unite revealed Bombardier plans to cut numbers by a further 280.
The union’s regional manager Davy Thompson said: “Unite is very disappointed with this devastating news.
“Only last month management announced 95 redundancies and this highlights our concerns that the Airbus agreement secured in the last fortnight has not provided any long-term guarantees to Northern Ireland workers.
“This comes despite management’s pronouncement the Airbus acquisition of a 50.01% stake in the C Series programme might result in a potential doubling of production on site.”
Concerns over the firm’s Belfast operations were raised after it became entangled in a trade war with Boeing which saw the US government slap 300% tariffs on sales of its C Series jets in America.
But last week Airbus – a Boeing competitor also based in the States – bought just over half of the Canadian firm.
Mr Thompson said: “Unite has highlighted the fact that Airbus paid nothing for this stake and it will only come into effect in the second half of 2018, meaning the deal, while providing some hope for the C Series in the future, has little to no impact on the financial pressures faced by the company in the present.
“Unite is calling on management to review. This decision is premature given the potential for growth in the C Series.”
A spokesman for Bombardier said: “We acknowledge the impact this will have on our workforce and their families. However, we need to continue to cut costs and improve the efficiency of our operations.
“Those impacted will be functional support personnel, including managers and professional staff.”
Downing Street also acknowledged it was a “very difficult time”. A spokeswoman said: “We will continue to work with [Bombardier] to make sure people who lose jobs are given help and support.”
In Newtownabbey, 220 jobs could be lost if Schlumberger decides to close.
Unite Regional Industrial Officer Susan Fitzgerald said: “Today’s announcement is another hammer blow for Northern Ireland’s manufacturing sector.
“Unite will be seeking urgent meetings with Schlumberger to demand answers as to how they can justify a decision to close their site in Northern Ireland when the crunch affecting the oil and gas sector is a global one and affects all locations equally.”
A spokesman for Schlumberger said: “This is only a proposal at this stage and we will be conducting consultation with the union and our employee representatives to make every effort to try and mitigate the impact on our employees.
“The oil and gas industry is going through the most severe downturn of the past 30 years. Between 2014 and 2016, Schlumberger’s revenue was reduced by nearly half and unfortunately, we do not see yet any sustainable recovery.”
Ulster Unionist MLA Steve Aiken yesterday said partial blame must go to the Assembly suspension.
He added: “We need to see more investment in our greatest resource and that’s our people.
“We need to invest in an indigenous manufacturing base and not allow skills to be lost forever.”
YESTERDAY