3M informs workforce compulsory redundancies likely at Bangor site

Scale of job-losses disproportionate to transfer of production proposed

October 26th: Sean Smyth, Unite Regional Officer, expressed his union’s dismay at the 3M Bangor announcement that they plan 34 job-losses following the transfer of Tier B tape manufacture to Italy:

“This announcement has come as a cruel shock to the workforce, a third of whom now face the threat of redundancy in the mouth of Christmas.

“3M Bangor has initiated a forty-five day consultation on proposals to reduce the workforce by thirty-four posts, with the majority going before the end of April 2016. They have also indicated that many of the job-losses may have to be delivered through compulsory redundancy.

“Unite employee representatives have expressed to us the depth of shock and concern existing within the workforce over this sudden announcement which will reduce employment at the Bangor site by one-third.

“Management is arguing that it is too expensive to produce the lower value-added Tier B tape at Bangor and is proposing to move this production to Grassobbio in Italy, leaving only production of the higher value-added Tier A tape in Bangor. However, the total volume of production of Tier B tape at Bangor is between 16-20% of production on site, considerably less than the third of the total workforce who now face redundancy.

“The disproportionate nature of this announcement has raised our concerns for the long-term future of production at the site. As such, Unite is looking for an urgent meeting with management to clarify the rationale for their proposals. We will endeavour to use the consultation period to work with management to reduce the number of job-losses, avoid compulsory redundancies and mitigate impact on the retained workforce”, Mr Smyth concluded.