Ulster Unionist Party MLAs have said that the latest announcement of job losses at Caterpillar is more evidence of a crisis in the manufacturing sector in Northern Ireland.

Roy Beggs MLA for East Antrim said:

“This is more bad news for manufacturing in Northern Ireland.  With Caterpillar having 3 sites in Larne, Monkstown and Springvale in West Belfast, this announcement is going to hit families over a wide geographic area, not just my constituency of East Antrim. 

“My understanding is that workers attending a shop floor meeting were told that 48 full time positions are going, 15 in Larne, 23 at Springvale, and 8 at Monkstown, plus two supervisors are losing their jobs as well.  In addition, the number of agency contract workers who will lose their jobs will depend on the uptake of voluntary redundancies.   We all need to recognise the pressures on local manufacturers and assess how we can support employment.”

Adrian Cochrane-Watson MLA, the party’s spokesperson on the economy said;

“The workers who are losing their jobs need more than sympathetic words from politicians.  They need action from politicians, particularly the politician in charge of the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment.  In the first instance, he needs to recognise the seriousness of the situation.   

“I would ask the Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister a simple question:

“Did he know that today’s job losses, at Caterpillar and Sensata, were in the pipeline when he was speaking in the Assembly yesterday? If he did not, then clearly he is out of touch.

If he did, then his complacency about the manufacturing sector is astounding.”