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13/09/2012
760 Jobs To Be Axed At FG Wilson
Seven hundred and sixty people are to lose their jobs at Larne-based engineering firm FG Wilson.
The number of job cuts announced today will come as a huge blow to Northern Ireland, already suffering from rising unemployment as revealed yesterday, as FG Wilson currently has more than 3,000 employees on its books.
It is also one of Northern Ireland's biggest exporters.
The job losses figure includes 170 agency workers who have already stopped working at the diesel generator set manufacturer.
Caterpillar, which owns FG Wilson, said jobs would go across the company's four Northern Ireland sites - Larne, Belfast, Springvale and Monkstown - and a total of 1,300 jobs would be shed by next year, culling the total of workers by more than a third.
Caterpillar blamed a global demand slowdown for the cuts, and said some of its production would be moved to China.
"We realise the announcements we're making affect a company that has a rich history in Northern Ireland," said Robert Kennedy, Northern Ireland operations director.
But, he said, "portions of our portfolio are not competitive, and we need to react accordingly for long-term growth."
Jimmy Kelly of Unite said the union's members were "spitting tacks at the way they are being treated".
He said: "The company has not given its workers or their union representatives the opportunity to negotiate a plan which would have attempted to keep some of the affected workers employed."
And Larne deputy mayor Mark McKinty said the legacy of the job losses "could last decades" and he was "saddened" that the Wilson family were not "more open" about the threats to their business.
(NE/GK)
The number of job cuts announced today will come as a huge blow to Northern Ireland, already suffering from rising unemployment as revealed yesterday, as FG Wilson currently has more than 3,000 employees on its books.
It is also one of Northern Ireland's biggest exporters.
The job losses figure includes 170 agency workers who have already stopped working at the diesel generator set manufacturer.
Caterpillar, which owns FG Wilson, said jobs would go across the company's four Northern Ireland sites - Larne, Belfast, Springvale and Monkstown - and a total of 1,300 jobs would be shed by next year, culling the total of workers by more than a third.
Caterpillar blamed a global demand slowdown for the cuts, and said some of its production would be moved to China.
"We realise the announcements we're making affect a company that has a rich history in Northern Ireland," said Robert Kennedy, Northern Ireland operations director.
But, he said, "portions of our portfolio are not competitive, and we need to react accordingly for long-term growth."
Jimmy Kelly of Unite said the union's members were "spitting tacks at the way they are being treated".
He said: "The company has not given its workers or their union representatives the opportunity to negotiate a plan which would have attempted to keep some of the affected workers employed."
And Larne deputy mayor Mark McKinty said the legacy of the job losses "could last decades" and he was "saddened" that the Wilson family were not "more open" about the threats to their business.
(NE/GK)
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