Bombardier job loss ‘scandal’ signals ‘deep-rooted’ problems

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Following this morning’s announcement by Bombardier that they are to lay off 1,400 workers from their facility in Derby, RMT General Secretary Bob Crow has called it a ‘scandal’.

“It’s a scandal that the Government are colluding with the European Union in a policy of industrial vandalism that would wipe out train building in the nation that gave the railways to the world.

“We will fight this stitch up tooth and nail from the shop floor to the benches of the House of Commons.

‘”German rail giant Deutsche Bahn awarded a £5 billion fleet contract to German company Siemens and no one batted an eyelid but when it comes to British skilled manufacturing jobs getting support from this government all we get is a pack of excuses and they stand exposed as totally impotent in light of the BombardierThameslink scandal,” Mr Crow said.

Stephen Tetlow, Chief Executive of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers said:

“The job losses at Bombardier signal a further decline in core UK engineering skills. It’s desperately sad, but not surprising.

“This is not a problem with a single contract to build the new Thameslink trains, but symptomatic of a more serious and deep-rooted malaise.

“The UK has no clear vision for its long-term transport infrastructure for which British manufacturing can tool-up, raise funds, and develop skills.

“The UK is on course to remain one of the worst performing European countries in terms of transport infrastructure for the next 10 years – even with projects like High Speed Rail 2 and the new Hitachi train building plant in the North East.

“Vital national strategic capabilities such as transport, energy and defence demand clear long-term visionary thinking and joined up government action.

“Without these the UK is stuck in the sidings and well-intentioned initiatives to boost engineering apprenticeships and encourage technology innovation will be meaningless – especially in Derby.”

A recent survey by the Institution found that of the 1,000 manufacturers polled just 12% thought that the UK government was performing well on manufacturing.

6 COMMENTS

  1. What part of the coalition govt’s rail and public-transport plans will lead to UK exports of rail and public-transport related equipment and systems??

    Is there any ‘British Ambition’ and brave pragmatism left in the United Kingdom??

    UK CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR PUBLIC- TRANSPORT NEEDED!! =================

    Should one of the main functions of the coalition govt’s planned high-speed (HS-2 & commuter, urban (Thames link) and other types of) rail-transport projects be to act as ‘show-pieces’ for French and German (and other countries’) engineering capabilities??

    Even if Bombardier received the Thames link contracts, the resulting products produced by Bombardier’s Derby assembly confab- that eventually get used within the UK- are still going to have to be paid for with money from UK taxpayers/the UK tax base

    If Bombardier is awarded the Thames link contract, its Derby confab won’t be making any money for the United Kingdom… only functioning as a sink-hole for UK tax-payer/UK tax-base funds…

    Without new sources of revenues and without increased revenues going to the UK Treasury resulting from UK and UK-based industries exporting products (such as transport-related ones), whether Bombardier gets the Thames link contracts or not is comparatively a red herring….

    Considering that South Korea has created an indigenous high-speed (and other types of) rail transport industry in less than 10-years- and every year is exporting rail transport products and systems- why couldn’t the United Kingdom do the same??
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSR-350x or

    http://www.hyundai-rotem.co.kr/Eng/Business/Rail/Railroad/Product/rail_car03.asp or
    http://www.hyundai-rotem.co.kr/Eng/Common/data/KTX-II090120_eng.pdf or
    http://www.hyundai-rotem.co.kr/Eng/Business/Rail/Railroad/Product/rail1_pop09.asp =================
    In terms of long-term UK economic/industrial strategies, the awarding of UK rail-transport contracts to existing UK-based confabs and the establishment in the UK of new facilities to construct and/or assemble new trains/rail-related hardware for use within the country is less than 1/2 of what industry leaders and govt officials ought to be aiming for…

    The creation of a self-sustaining rail technology (and public-transport) research and development AND DESIGN & MANUFACTURING base in the UK is needed just as much…

    One or more of the UK’s big-business success(es) could- with govt-assistance &/or leadership- work to form a ‘broadly internationally-represented’ UK Centre Of Excellence For Public Transport that would include established UK players such as (Canada-based) Bombardier & (Japan-based) Hitachi AND one or more British companies- such as Rolls-Royce, BAE &/or VT – AND one or more of China’s, Japan’s &/or S. Korea’s
     
    ( http://www.hyundai-rotem.co.kr/Eng/Business/Rail/Railroad/Product/rail_car03.asp or http://www.hyundai-rotem.co.kr/Eng/Common/data/KTX-II090120_eng.pdf or

    http://www.hyundai-rotem.co.kr/Eng/Business/Rail/Railroad/Product/rail1_pop09.asp or

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSR-350x )
    … established high-speed train & rail-products manufacturers…

    As part of a UK Centre Of Excellence For Public Transport venture, participating companies could be charged with developing & marketing world-wide British models/brands of high-speed trains (& other people-mover train types) along with developing

    British models/brands of high-speed (& slower speed) rail ‘track’ & signalling components that would be meant to operate British-brand high-speed trains (& slower trains) AS WELL AS other countries’ brands of high-speed trains…

    _________________ Mr. Roderick V. Louis,Vancouver, BC, Canada

  2. This disgrace just proves “never ever trust the weasel words of any politician”   I despair for my country, my England, my once wonderful country that I was so very proud of.   Every day brings new shame, new misery from those that unfortunately have been elected – this is just the latest example which will soon fade from our memories once the next disaster is thrust on my poor England.   I wish so much that one, just one, newspaper could print each disgraceful decision that has been made in our name by the last two Labour Administration and in the short few months by this one.   It would fill volumnes.   The terrible truth is that day by day by day we losing our country, from the despair being felt by all those in Bombardier and those in other firms working in conjunction with Bombardiers requirements to the fact that Sterling has lost so much of its value it was unecessary to have a devaluation andnow represents just 4% as a reserve currency.   The real tragedy is that no one, absolutely no one is responsible or held to account.

  3. If only the Luftwaffe had waited, we’re demolishing
    our own industry, a little late I grant you, but we’re far more effective

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