200 jobs to go at Short Brothers before Christmas

Bombardier Aerospace have issued more than 100 workers at Short Brothers in Belfast with compulsory redundancies on Friday, December 14.

In addition over 90 employees will be released on voluntary redundancy or voluntary early retirement packages before Christmas.

According to a internal bulletin handed out to members of staff in Shorts, 100 people in the “at risk” direct category were informed on Thursday December 13 they would not have a job to come back to after Christmas as the redundancy would take effect as of Friday, December 14.

There are 154 employees in the “at risk” category and the remaining 54 will be told after the Christmas break when they have to go.

Bombardier also confirmed in the internal document that by the end of January 2002 they intend to make a total of 523 workers redundant.

The company returns to work on January 2 and on that day employees will be told on that day, following an assessment, if they are to retain their jobs They can appeal the decision on January 3 and on January 4 they will formally be served with letters of dismissal.

Speaking at a management meeting on Thursday Vice President and General Manager of Aerospace Operations Michael Ryan said: “The world’s view of things has radically changed as a result of September 11. Our industry has and is undergoing a major change. We have moved from a period of recruitment to one of redundancy by necessity rather than choice. A lot of effort has been dedicated to the mitigation of the overall number of redundancies, which will not now be as high as first announced. It is too early to say what the final numbers will be, but this will be clearer by the end of the first quarter of 2002. We must continue to focus on costs and further drive for increased competitiveness. This has been a difficult few months and we need to continue supporting each other for a better future.”

However, in response to this Manufacturing Science Finance (MSF) union sources continue to maintain that the grim picture painted by Bombardier is “untrue”. One source said: “There is a massive contradiction between what is being portrayed in Belfast and in Montreal where Bombardier’s headquarters are located. On the one hand we have major redundancies being enforced in Belfast and in Montreal they are calling people back. People are losing their jobs in Belfast for no reason.”

Union representatives also pointed out that this week, Bombardier had secured a major deal in the United States. On December 12 2001 Bombardier signed a letter of intent to sell up to 57 Bombardier Learjet business jets to a US regional airline, a deal thought to net around $1 billion if fully exploited. Bombardier’s Transportation sub company is also lined up to sign a lucrative contract in Paris between Bombardier Transportation and the French national railway system for 500 regional passenger trains.

A MSF union member said: “Far from the company falling apart it is continuing to be successful. That is why these jobs losses in Belfast cannot be put down to the effects September 11 has had on the aviation industry.” (AMcE)