THE loss of 490 more highly skilled jobs at Belfast plane-maker Bombardier has been described as a "devastating development" for workers, their families and the wider manufacturing industry in the north.
And it is feared the collateral damage from the latest redundancy announcement could have have even further implications, with the aerospace giant's cohort of agency workers being hit and suppliers and contractors also impacted.
Bombardier's Canadian parent warned two weeks ago that it was to reduce its 70,000-strong global workforce by 5,000, and staff at the former Shorts plant in Belfast feared the worst.
In a statement yesterday Bombardier said: “Following the global workforce adjustments announced by Bombardier Inc. on November 8, we have reviewed our manpower requirements in Belfast and regret to confirm that we must reduce our workforce across the company by 490 employees.
“We acknowledge the impact this will have on our workforce and their families and we continue to explore opportunities to help mitigate the number of compulsory redundancies.
“However, we need to continue to cut costs and improve the efficiency of our operations to help ensure our long-term competitiveness.”
The jobs at Bombardier - which remains one of the north's largest employers despite its workforce having shrunk from 7,000 to 4,000 in less than a decade - are expected to be shed in February or March.
Workers at the plant, around 1,000 of whom are responsible for making the wings for the A220 plane (formerly known as the CSeries), have faced uncertainty in recent times after threatened US trade tariffs placed a major question mark over aircraft production, but these were later lifted.
Manufacturing NI chief executive Stephen Kelly told the Irish News: "This decision underlines how brittle the local manufacturing sector can be to global forces.
"But Bombardier still has an enormous footprint in the Northern Ireland economy, with an exceptionally skilled workforce, and it is still making a massive contribution to the region."
GMB, the union for Bombardier workers, said it was "outraged" by the jobs announcement.
Its regional organiser Michael Muholland said: “Our members in Northern Ireland have already suffered months of uncertainty following Trump’s tariffs, and now they are under the cosh again.
“Bombardier jobs are crucial to Belfast’s economy and GMB will fight tooth and nail to save them. We will be meeting management over the next few days to discuss next steps."
Jackie Pollock, Unite union regional secretary for Ireland, said: "Although these jobs will not go until February or March, this announcement is a cruel blow for the Bombardier workforce in the mouth of Christmas.
"Unite has feared for some time that Bombardier might be bringing forward large-scale redundancies, but this news exceeds our worst fears."
Over the last 15 years Bombardier has been offered more than £75 million of public fund, including £21 million towards developing the CSeries aircraft.
