07.02.14
Bombardier contract to safeguard UK jobs
Unions have welcomed Bombardier’s Crossrail win, which should safeguard the existing workforce as well as creating a further 350 jobs.
The fleet contract to build Crossrail trains, worth £1bn, is for 65 new trains and a new depot at Old Oak Common.
Following the company’s loss of the £1.5bn Thameslink contract to Siemens in 2011 had meant Bombardier had to lay off 400 full-time and 1,000 agency staff.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “This is wonderful news for Derby, the East Midlands and UK manufacturing. Workers in the city will be relieved to learn that jobs and apprenticeships at the factory have been secured for a good few years.
“It’s down in no small part to the Bombardier management and workforce who have worked hard to keep the business alive – a campaign which was strongly backed by local people and unions in the region from the very beginning.
“Ministers clearly listened to union concerns and made sure that any firms who wanted to win the contract had to show how they would put taxpayers’ money to good use and invest in jobs and the local economy.”
And Unite national officer Julia Long said: “After the disastrous handling of the Thameslink contract this news must come as a massive relief for the skilled men and women at Bombardier.
“Bombardier will continue to build trains, valuable jobs will be secured and young people will have a future in manufacturing through apprenticeships. This decision is a tribute to the skills and dedication of the Derbyshire workforce.”
More on the Bombardier decision here.
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