250 job losses at Newton Aycliffe Hitachi factory

THERE could be as many as 250 redundancies at Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe factory as a result of a lack of future orders.

The number of posts to be lost represents a third of the workforce.

The firm has entered a 45-day negotiation period with staff, but will aim to relocate staff to other sites its operates providing servicing and maintenance on long-term contracts.

The factory has recently completed the 70 Class 385s for ScotRail and is progressing with fitting out the final ‘Azuma’ trains for LNER, the last of which will be delivered in May.

On Newton Aycliffe’s order book are 33 five-car bi-mode units for East Midlands Railway, 13 five-car bi-modes and 10 seven-car EMUs for Avanti West Coast, and five five-car Class 803 sets for First Group’s East Coast Main Line open access operation, which is due to begin in 2021.

Offsetting the job loses, Hitachi will invest £8.5million in the factory, creating new carriage welding and painting facilities, taking Hitachi’s total investment at Newton Aycliffe in the past five years to around £110m.

The increase in capability will allow Newton Aycliffe to become a full-scope manufacturing facility, from welding panels through to building fully rail-ready trains.

Ross Nagle, COO

Manufacturing, Hitachi

Rail, said: “We’re proud to be investing as it will allow us to complete the full scope of train manufacturing across a wider range of products, making us one of the most advanced train building factories in the UK.

“However, the cyclical demand in the industry means the factory must be more flexible to secure a long-term, sustainable future.”