Questions to the Scottish First Minister - May 27
Rolls-Royce (Inchinnan Site)
(West Scotland) (Lab):
Plans by Rolls-Royce to slash 9,000 jobs globally will have a
severe impact on its site at Inchinnan, which employs more than
1,000 people and supports much of Scotland’s aerospace sector. If
jobs go at Rolls-Royce, workers fear that they may never return.
I welcomed the update from the Minister for Business, Fair Work
and Skills, but will the First Minister outline what steps the
Scottish Government can take to prevent those job losses and to
ensure that Inchinnan workers benefit from the economic recovery
when it comes? Does she agree that there must be strategic
investment in the sector to save jobs and to prevent irreparable
damage to the Scottish economy?
The First Minister ():
I agree with that, and I agree and sympathise with the general
sentiment of the question. As I know that is aware, we are actively
engaging with Rolls-Royce to try to minimise any redundancies and
to do everything that we can to secure the company’s continued
presence.
Rolls-Royce is important for its own sake in relation to the
employment that is dependent upon it, but it is also important
because of a wider strategic interest in relation to our
manufacturing footprint. We therefore see the situation very much
in that strategic context as well as from the perspective of the
individuals who work at Rolls-Royce. We will continue to keep
and other members updated as
those discussions continue. We will do everything that we can to
secure the outcomes that I am sure he will want us to secure.