1:53pm UK, Tuesday July 05, 2011
The engineering firm Bombardier has said almost 1,500 jobs are to go at its Derby factory, the last train manufacturing plant in Britain.
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Night-shift workers told Sky News they were "very disappointed" to get confirmation of the plans, which will see three two out of three workers made redundant.
The Canadian company announced the cuts after losing out on a lucrative contract to build new Thameslink trains.
Instead the Government gave that contract to a consortium led by German rival Siemens.
Between May 2007 and April 2009 the Government awarded 10 contracts to build 717 engines and carriages.
Bombardier gained seven (333 vehicles, worth £433m)
Siemens gained two (278 vehicles, worth £349m)
Alstom gained one (106 vehicles, worth £270m)
Source: Department of Transport
According to Sky News contributor Russell Luckock, chairman of Midlands-based engineering company AE Harris, Bombardier has been "in trouble for some time".
"My company manufactures for a first tier supplier to Bombardier. For the last 12 months, we will not even order the materials to produce the goods required until we have a cleared cheque in our bank," Mr Luckock said.
The factory in Derby has a 170-year history of manufacturing trains
The job losses at the historic factory in Derby may not be the last, as the company currently has five production lines and by September all but one will have no work.
In a statement, Bombardier's UK passenger division president Francis Paonessa said: "We regret this outcome but without new orders we cannot maintain the current level of employment and activity at Derby.
"Over the next 90 days together with employee representatives we will work with individual employees to ensure the best possible outcome for our people."
Bombardier currently employs 3,000 people at the Derby factory, with a further 12,000 jobs directly linked to the site through the supply chain.
The company has already said there are no plans to transfer work from its other plants to Derby, which means that unless it secures new orders, the Derby plant will have no more work in two years time.
The Bombardier factory had been producing a record level of rolling stock
In a statement, Bombardier said 446 permanent positions and 986 contract roles would be affected by the downsizing.
Over half of these permanent positions are filled by highly skilled engineers.
The company's chairman of UK transportation Colin Walton said the announcement was part of an "ongoing process".
"The loss of the Thameslink contract has forced us to conduct a UK-wide review of our operations," he said.
Officially this announcement starts a 90-day consultation process but those at Bombardier already fear the worst for a plant that has a 170-year history of building trains.
Article Source KBG Test Blog (http://rc.kbg.me)
