Caterpillar: Up to 700 jobs to go at Larne plant

Caterpillar, the US manufacturing firm, is planning to cut 700 jobs at its Northern Ireland operations.

The job losses will predominantly affect workers at its plant in Larne, County Antrim.

The company said the move is unrelated to Brexit and Covid-19, or the end of furlough schemes.

The job losses are expected to happen over the next 18 months and would leave the firm with 900 staff in Northern Ireland.

In a statement, the firm said its aim was to "improve cost competitiveness" and make "more efficient use of our manufacturing footprint".

The Unite union described it as "devastating news" for the Caterpillar workforce.

"These are very highly-skilled manufacturing jobs and they will not be easily recovered," said Unite's regional officer, George Brash.

In a statement, the union said it understood much of the production being cut in Larne is to be outsourced to India.

It called the restructuring plan a "scandalous profit grab at expense of workers in Northern Ireland" and said it would try to defend the jobs.

The 700 jobs at risk include production, support and management positions.

"We recognise that what we are considering is difficult for our employees, their families and the community," said Joe Creed, vice president of Caterpillar's electric power division.

"We do not take these contemplations lightly."

However, Mr Creed said that the firm must plan for the future and its business "needs to be competitive".

Sammy Wilson, MP for the East Antrim constituency where the factory is located, said there had not been a consultation with workers on the job cuts.

"There was no attempt to see if anything could be done in Northern Ireland that could make Northern Ireland more competitive, and the jobs are suddenly going to disappear," he said.

Mr Wilson said it was important to now talk to the company and see if there were other positions it had within its operation that it could move to Northern Ireland.

"What has to happen is that we've got to target the types of manufacturing where we've got a comparative advantage," Mr Wilson added.

Economy Minister Diane Dodds described the news as a "devastating blow" to the local economy and to "many hard working families".

She said her department's careers service would work with those affected by the announcement.

"The situation has arisen as a result of a decision made by Caterpillar at corporate level," she said.

"The company has clearly stated their announcement is not a closure announcement.

"I have confidence in Northern Ireland's capability and that the Caterpillar operation will continue to be a key contributor to the manufacturing and engineering base in Northern Ireland."

In addition to the Larne plant, Caterpillar also has two sites in west Belfast.

These include a manufacturing facility in Springvale, which makes axles and transmissions for trucks, and an administrative centre in Springvale Business Park.

A spokesman for the firm told BBC News NI that the manufacturing facility in Springvale "is not impacted by this announcement".

However, Caterpillar is "considering the sale" of its Millennium office building in the Springvale Business Park.

If that sale goes ahead, the remaining office employees would be relocated to its Larne plant.

Caterpillar says these cuts are not related to Brexit or the pandemic.

So we can conclude it is simply a case of business as usual for global capitalism.

A giant company like Caterpillar will be constantly assessing where to deploy its resources for maximum efficiency and profitability.

Increasingly, that has meant moving manufacturing to lower cost locations which are closer to growth markets like China and India.

These cuts are not the end of Caterpillar in Northern Ireland, it will still have 900 staff.

But 10 years ago it was closer to 3,000.

A consultation on the proposed job cuts will be held with representatives of both full-time staff and casual workers.

Unite said it would use the minimum 90-day consultation period to "fight to defend these jobs and the important skill base they represent".

"Last year the company posted profits of more than $17bn but clearly that is not enough," said Mr Brash.

"They are seeking to make even more money at the cost of their workforce in Northern Ireland."

The union is meeting Caterpillar staff on Thursday afternoon to discuss their next steps.

The firm said the restructuring could begin before the end of this year and it expects the process to be complete by May 2022.

Caterpillar said it would support its workforce during the transition period and intends to provide severance packages to redundant employees.

The American company expanded into Northern Ireland in 1966 and Caterpillar (NI) Limited is now one of the biggest manufacturers of diesel generator sets in Europe.

In 1999, the US firm bought one of Northern Ireland's best known manufacturing companies, FG Wilson.

FG Wilson was renamed as Caterpillar (Northern Ireland) in 2013.

Staff at its plant on the Old Glenarm Road in Larne mainly work on the design, manufacture and sale of generator sets.