GE to cut 369 jobs at aircraft factory
GENERAL Electric is to cut hundreds of jobs at its aircraft plant in Nantgarw.
It is understood that 369 jobs will be cut from the firm’s aircraft maintenance plant.
In May it was revealed GE was consulting with the 1,400 people at the factory. It said 13,000 of its 52,000 people worldwide workforce could be affected as the air travel industry feels the effects of the global lockdown.
The announcement is the latest blow to the Welsh economy this week. On the same day, the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport announced redundancies which could see its workforce reduced by almost half, and on Tuesday car-maker Ineos put its Bridgend plant on hold, jeopardising hundreds of jobs.
In a joint statement, Alex Davies-Jones MP and Mick Antoniw MS, both Labour representatives for Pontypridd, said the GE announcement is “absolutely devastating”.
They said: “The announcement that 369 jobs will be cut at General Electric in Nantgarw is absolutely devastating for the employees and the whole community.
“It is particularly distressing that the majority of GE’s UK job cuts will fall on the Nantgarw site. These are highly skilled, highly paid jobs and will be extremely difficult to replace.
“This news follows job cuts at British Airways in Llantrisant and other Welsh sites, and the announcement of redundancies at Airbus in Broughton in north Wales.”
GE Aviation makes jet engines for Boeing and Airbus and the site at Nantgarw has the capacity to maintain up to 500 engines a year.
But global air traffic is expected to be down by about 80% in the second quarter when compared to the start of the pandemic’s effect in China in early February.
The joint statement added: “It is clear to us that the UK Government must urgently act on Labour’s call for extra support for targeted sectors. The UK aerospace industry is in crisis and it is not acceptable for the UK Government to simply sit back and shrug its shoulders.
“We call on the UK Government to intervene urgently.
“We will continue to work with Unite the Union and GE management to do everything we can to ensure that as many jobs as possible are retained.”
A GE Aviation 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, and we regret having to make these proposals.”