Prestwick aerospace company consults over jobs

AEROSPACE firm GE Caledonian has said 137 jobs are at risk in Prestwick in a new redundancy process which started this week.

Unite the union said again government intervention on aviation is needed after the company announced the potential job losses at its plants in Scotland and Wales.

GE said there are 369 roles at Cardiff and 137 proposed redundancies in Prestwick in the round announced on Thursday, which follows a total of 323 jobs lost through a voluntary redundancy process, including 150 in Scotland.

A GE spokesman said: “The proposals to reduce our workforce are due to the unprecedented impact of Covid-19 on the commercial aviation industry.

“We appreciate the commitment of all our employees during this difficult time and regret having to make these proposals. We remain focused on protecting the safety of our employees, continuing to serve our customers, and preserving our capability to respond as the industry recovers.”

It comes as the aviation industry is struggling with a huge loss of income after the coronavirus lockdown halted flights across the world.

Rolls-royce said it has reached cash-burn of £3 billion and around 700 jobs are expected to be lost at its Inchinnan plant in Renfrewshire, which currently employs 1,300 workers.

Unite called for short to medium-term measures similar to those adopted by the UK’S economic competitors, France and Germany.

Rhys Mccarthy, Unite national officer for aerospace, said: “Rishi Sunak needs to have a light bulb moment and replicate the actions of our economic competitors, France and Germany, and put in place comprehensive measures, such as shortterm working, to support world-class manufacturing companies, such as GE, Airbus and Rolls-royce, through the pandemic.”

GE Caledonian at Prestwick is an engine overhaul facility initially set up in 1980.