BiFab yards in administration after £2billion deal collapses
Unions hit out at ‘political hypocrisy’
ENGINEERING firm BiFab has gone into administration after the Scottish Government ruled out nationalising the company.
Canada-based DF Barnes bought the business in 2018 but said it was “not an investable company at the time” and it was understood the Government would be the “primary financiers”.
That was after BiFab, which has yards in Burntisland and Methil in Fife, as well as one on Lewis, had to be rescued by the Scottish Government in 2017.
The firm had been preparing to put up to 500 employees back to work on a wind turbine scheme when it emerged ministers could no longer provide the necessary financial support.
A £2billion deal to make eight turbine jackets at its yard in Methil as part of the Neart Na Gaoithe project subsequently collapsed.
The firm said: “The absence of supply chain protections in Scotland and the wider UK have consistently undermined our ability to compete with government- owned and government-supported yards.
“We would urge the Scottish and UK governments to address these st ructura l challenges as a matter of urgency.”
The Scottish Government has argued state aid rules prevent it from bailing out the firm.
Gary Smith and Pat Rafferty, of GMB Scotland and Unite Scotland respectively, said: “BiFab’s administration exposes the myth of Scotland’s renewables revolution, as well as a decade of political hypocrisy and failure in Scotland and the rest of the UK.” STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said: “Today’s announcement is the latest stage in a sorry saga of government and corporate failure, with the victims being workers and their families from Fife to the islands.”
Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “In order to successfully secure and deliver new contracts, BiFab required working capital, the provision of appropriate assurance packages by the shareholders, and plans for investment at the sites.
“Despite commitments made at the time of acquisition, this is something the majority shareholder JV Driver was not willing to provide. We will now work with the administrators and trade unions to secure a new future for the BiFab yards.”
This has been a sorry saga and the victims are workers. ROZ FOYER STUC GENERAL SECRETARY