Economy Minister comments on Bombardier Inc workforce reductions

Economy Minister Simon Hamilton has commented on the news that Bombardier Inc is to reduce its global workforce by 7,500.

The Minister said: “Today’s announcement by Bombardier will come as a great shock to the Northern Ireland workforce. The staff at Bombardier's sites across Northern Ireland are foremost in my thoughts as they face into an uncertain time ahead. 

“I, and my officials in Invest NI, together with colleagues in the UK Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy will continue to engage with Bombardier management both here and in Canada.

"As the company works through the detail of what the impact will be here, we will do absolutely everything we can and take every opportunity available to us to highlight to senior decision makers in the company the strength of Bombardier's Northern Ireland operations and the skills of the workforce. I will do everything I can to fight to save as many Bombardier jobs in Northern Ireland as possible.”

 The Minister continued: “It had been our hope that the announcement in February represented a peak in potential job losses at the company. Based on today’s announcement from Canada it is clear that the combined pressures on both its markets and the ongoing need to drive competitiveness means the organisation is having to make further changes to its business to safeguard its future.

“When I met with Michael Ryan recently he discussed with me Bombardier's ongoing challenges and it was made clear to me that government intervention would not help them address the difficulties the business is facing across the globe."

Notes to editors: 

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