The government can no longer stand on the sidelines as the latest
blow to British industry came today when another leading
aerospace company GE announced a total of 769 job losses at its
plants in Scotland and Wales.
A total of 323 jobs have gone through a voluntary redundancy
process, with another 446 compulsory redundancies proposed today.
Unite, Britain and Ireland’s largest union, said that the gloss
had quickly come off chancellor Rishi Sunak’s mini-budget
yesterday, which had done precious little for UK manufacturing,
now bearing much of the brunt of the gathering storm of job
losses.
A total of 498 redundancies are proposed at GE Aviation Wales,
Nantgarw, Cardiff and 271 at GE Caledonian, Prestwick – a 40 per
cent reduction in the workforce between March and September this
year.
Unite reiterated this afternoon that jobs being lost from
manufacturing is the human price for not putting in place a
comprehensive range of short to medium term measures, such as
short-term working, to support the sector, similar to those
adopted by the UK’s economic competitors, France and Germany.
Unite national officer for aerospace Rhys McCarthy said: “It took
less than 24 hours for the sheen to fade from chancellor Rishi
Sunak’s £30bn mini-budget yesterday which was centred on boosting
consumer spending, with precious little heed to the urgent needs
of British manufacturing which drives so much of the UK economy.
“Rishi Sunak needs to have a light bulb moment and replicate the
actions of our economic competitors, France and Germany, and put
in place comprehensive measures, such as short-term working, to
support world-class manufacturing companies, such as GE, Airbus
and Rolls Royce, through the pandemic.
“The GE announcement amounts to about a 40 per cent head count
reduction from the sites in Wales and Scotland from pre-Covid-19
levels.
“The company had recently undertaken voluntary severance at the
two sites that carries out work for civil commercial aviation –
today’s numbers are in addition to this.
“Unite is concerned that the company is basing these redundancy
figures on worst case scenarios for the aerospace industry; and
Unite and its sister trade unions have requested that Syndex
consultants examine and challenge the business case put forward
by GE.
“This is yet another devastating announcement of workers, through
no fault of their own, losing their jobs. These job cuts are not
coming from failing companies, indeed, before the pandemic they
were thriving.
“What this highlights is the UK government ongoing failure to put
forward a ‘survive, rebuild and recover’ strategy for UK
aerospace.
“The UK government ‘tactics without a strategy’ approach will
herald the downfall of our leading place in the global aerospace
sector, unless the government provides substantial support and
joined up thinking for the aerospace industry specifically and
manufacturing generally.
“What we are seeing is a tsunami of jobs losses which will have a
devastating effect on workers, their families and ultimately on
the local and national economy.
“Many of the factories and plants that make up the UK
manufacturing base are in the very communities and regions, that
promised would be at the
heart of his so-called ‘levelling up’ agenda – now is the time to
put flesh on the rhetoric.”
