Aircraft maker Bombardier to cut hundreds of jobs in Northern Ireland

Job losses will be 'heavy blow for the local economy', especially in the weeks before Christmas, Unite the union said

The cuts will affect the Canadian group's Belfast operations (PA)

Aircraft manufacturer Bombardier has announced plans to cut 490 posts from its operations in Northern Ireland.

The news comes weeks after the Canadian firm said it would axe 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months, as part of a major cost-cutting effort.

The job losses, which will affect Bombardier’s Belfast operations, represent a significant portion of the 4,000 people employed by the company in Northern Ireland. The cuts will fall across all skillsets, and will come into effect from February onwards.

A spokesperson for Bombardier said: “Following the global workforce adjustments announced by Bombardier on 8 November ... we have reviewed our manpower requirements in Belfast and regret to confirm that we must reduce our workforce across the company by 490 employees.

“We acknowledge the impact this will have on our workforce and their families and we continue to explore opportunities to help mitigate the number of compulsory redundancies. However, we need to continue to cut costs and improve the efficiency of our operations to help ensure our long-term competitiveness.”

Unite regional coordinating officer Susan Fitzgerald said the union will be seeking an urgent meeting with Bombardier to “express anger and disgust at today’s announcement and insist on an alternative plan being brought forward that does not lead to job losses”.

Ms Fitzgerald said: “There is no justification for these job losses. Bombardier’s profits are increasing rapidly and the company’s finances have stabilised. This is more about satisfying the insatiable demands of the financial sector than about securing the skills base of its workforce.

“Bombardier corporate management seem enthralled by the need to generate ever higher profits for shareholders’ benefit through retrenchment, outsourcing and offshoring work.”

Jackie Pollock, Unite regional secretary for Ireland, said the 490 job cuts would come as “a heavy blow for the local economy”, not least because they represent more than 10 per cent of the total workforce in the Belfast plant.

“This would mean that a disproportionate number of the 5,000 jobs to be cut globally will be going in Northern Ireland,” he said.

“Although these jobs will not go until February or March, this announcement is a cruel blow for the Bombardier workforce in the mouth of Christmas. Unite has feared for some time that Bombardier might be bringing forward large-scale redundancies but this news exceeds our worst fears.”