Without warning sell-off to ‘Lauak Group’ of France is latest incident of offshoring and outsourcing impacting jobs in Northern Ireland

Bombardier corporate management should remember the determination and strength demonstrated by workers during threat to jobs from US tariffs

August 30th: Susan Fitzgerald, Unite Regional Coordinating Officer responded to news that Bombardier would be selling-off its tubing, piping & systems centres.

“The workforce and its unions were informed only today by management that they are selling their tubing centre (with sites at Mirabelle in Canada and Belfast) to French company, Lauak Group. Despite talk that this sell off will raise revenue for investment in new projects, workers in Belfast see this as a further instance of management taking jobs and skills out of the Belfast site.

“This effective outsourcing of work done by fitters and welders in Belfast comes as the latest in a long line of offshoring and outsourcing of IT, finance and maintenance functions. Workers on the sites have been left wondering just where next will the axe fall. Once these skills go our fear is that they will never be replaced. Despite assurances by management of a shiny future from new products they are very thin on detail when it comes to retraining opportunities and recruitment.

“Approximately seventy workers will be affected by this announcement but every worker in Bombardier will be left angry over another cut to jobs here; it’s like death by a thousand cuts.

“The company only notified Unite of this today, despite the decision being made in Montreal there is no question that local management in Belfast knew about this for some time and this has angered our members. The company should remember the determination and strength that was shown by our union and members when the very future of the plant was threatened by US tariffs. We won’t stand idly by while jobs and skills leak out of Belfast.

“Unite union representatives will be speaking to members to discuss our response to this news and we will be meeting with Michael Ryan, Bombardier Aerostructures President on this early next week”, Ms Fitzgerald said.