Bombardier To Bring Forward Over 90 Redundancies

Aerospace firm Bombardier is to bring forward over 90 redundancies it had planned to make in 2017.

Bombardier said it will bring forward a total of 95 redundancies at its operation in Belfast.

In February the firm said it was axing 1,080 posts over two years as part of global restructuring.

A spokesperson said: "Having reviewed our requirements, unfortunately we need to pull forward to this year more of the workforce reductions that were expected to take place during 2017.

"The overall figure of 1,080 over 2016 and 2017 that we announced in February as part of Bombardier's global restructuring has not changed."

However, Unite the union is demanding urgent talks with Stormont Ministers to seek a proactive approach to defend the manufacturing jobs.

Davy Thompson, Regional Coordinating Officer for Unite, said: "The heavy manufacturing sector has been decimated by three major closures in the Belfast and Ballymena areas and we have witnessed a drip feed of redundancies in Bombardier (Shorts), Caterpillar (FG Wilson) and most recently at DuPont site in the North West. These losses now amount to thousands of direct and indirect job losses.

"We have heard all the nice words from Stormont and can expect more of the same again today but we continue to wait for them to announce what plans they have to support this vital sector. Indeed it's only weeks since both Executive parties combined to defeat a UUP motion calling for a dedicated strategy for manufacturing – a proposal Unite has been advocating for more than eighteen months now.

"The failure to commit to a stand-alone industrial strategy in Northern Ireland is inexplicable when we face particular challenges in the context of the recent Brexit vote and compares to a situation where even the new Tory Prime Minister has announced she will be bringing forward an industrial strategy for England."

SDLP Economy spokesperson Sinead Bradley said the Executive cannot continue to ignore the need for a manufacturing strategy.

She said: "This is the second time this year that Bombardier have brought forward the planned redundancies and I am seeking an urgent meeting with senior management at the company to determine what their future intentions are. In addition to the losses today,a further 400 people will lose their jobs and they need certainty about when that will happen.

"The manufacturing sector, which employs around 85,000 people in Northern Ireland, also needs certainty about its future, which is why - in line with the sector and trade unions - the SDLP have been calling for the establishment of a manufacturing strategy. However the Executive time and time again fails to grasp the significance of this, in spite of the mountain of evidence that one is so badly needed."

(CD)