Ulster Unionist representative for East Belfast Andy Allen has expressed his concern after Bombardier revealed to employees that it was now bringing forward 50 job losses that were originally not expected to take place until next year.
Andy Allen said:
“The announcement in February of the planned loss of 1,080 jobs in Bombardier came as a shattering blow to the employees, and to the wider economy of East Belfast. The workforce was due to be cut by around 580 this year and by a further devastating 500 next year.
“Early this morning I was contacted by several concerned employees who had just been told by letter that the company were now expecting up to 630 jobs to go this year. One of the reasons given is that the company will give core employees in some areas the option to take redundancy if they do not want to downgrade to a lower position.
“Whilst I am relieved that Bombardier has reaffirmed its commitment to the C Series programme and to Northern Ireland’s critical role in its delivery, these earlier than planned job losses shows the situation is still deeply unstable. This underlines the necessity for the incoming Executive to devise quickly, and with the essential input of business and unions, a Manufacturing Strategy for Northern Ireland.”