A £5 million legacy fund set up by the JTI (Japan Tobacco International) Gallaher plant in Ballymena has been broadly welcomed by community, political and business leaders.
The tobacco manufacturer, which is axing nearly 900 jobs with the closure of its Co Antrim factory, announced yesterday it was setting up the trust fund to support re-employment opportunities in the area.
A total of 870 jobs will be lost when production ends next year - around 500 employees have already been made redundant.
Trade union proposals aimed at saving jobs at the factory was rejected in January 2015 after JTI Gallaher turned down a Unite plan to turn the premises into a centre of excellence for pouch tobacco and cigar production.
The decision, which will end in the complete shut-down of production by 2017, dealt a hammer blow to the town's already faltering economy which has also been rocked by the move to close the Michelin tyre factory in 2018 with the loss of 860 jobs.
In a statement at the time, JTI Gallaher said it was working in a "challenging regulatory and operating environment" and it had "fought very hard" against plain packaging proposals in the UK, the EU's Tobacco Products Directive 2 (TPD2) as well as the trade in smuggled cigarettes.
The new fund will be used to support job creation and skills development for the Ballymena community, along with support for disadvantaged adults.
Around £300,000 will be spent every year for the next two decades.
Chair of the new charitable trust is North Antrim DUP MP Ian Paisley, who said JTI Gallaher had been "at the heart" of his constituency for many years.
He will be joined on the board by James Perry, chair of the Ballymena Business Centre and current High Sheriff of Co Antrim; Pat McCallion, former senior shop steward for the TGWU at the Lisnafillan factory and chairman of the Ballymena Credit Union; and Karen Reynolds, JTI's head of community relations.
Chief Executive of Invest NI, Alastair Hamilton, welcomed the fund which, he said, would "provide a significant resource" for the community to help fund job creation and skills projects to provide opportunities for future employment.
Meanwhile, Davy Thompson, Unite regional coordinating officer, called on the Northern Ireland Executive to match what JTI "have put on the table".
"So far we have been under-whelmed by the response of our policy-makers in Stormont who have refused to bring forward the proactive, industrial strategy needed to attract jobs for the thousands of skilled workers in the Ballymena area," he said.
"In the context where Ballymena faces the loss of a similar number of jobs in Michelin over the next 24 months, Unite is calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to match what JTI have put on the table and create a fund capable of meeting the challenges of the future."
JTI UK's head of corporate affairs and communications, Charlie Cunningham-Reid, said: "We have supported the local community in Northern Ireland since Tom Gallaher's very first charitable donation in 1897.
"Following the announcement of our factory closure, JTI made a commitment to continue this support and we believe the creation of this trust will leave a lasting legacy for the people of Ballymena."
