Bombardier to cut 1,400 jobs
Train maker Bombardier is cutting more than 1,400 jobs at its plant in Derby after losing out to German group Siemens for the Thameslink cross-London rail upgrade contract.
The Canadian company, which also makes aircraft, said it would cut 446 permanent jobs and 983 temporary jobs from its 3,000 strong Derby workforce as a result of missing out on the Thameslink contract and the completion of its current workload, which includes metro cars for London Underground.
“The culmination and successful delivery of these projects and the loss of the Thameslink contract, which would have secured workload at this site, means that it is inevitable that we must adjust capacity in line with economic reality,” Francis Paonessa, President of the Passengers Division for the UK, said in a statement.
“We regret this outcome but without new orders we cannot maintain the current level of employment and activity at Derby.”
Bombardier – the only remaining train builder in Britain – said all its contracts, except for cars for some London Underground lines, would be complete by the end of September this year.
In June, Britain awarded a consortium led by Siemens a contract to build and maintain 1,200 train carriages on London’s key Thameslink commuter rail service as part of a £6bn upgrade of the line, which links Brighton on the south coast to commuter towns north of London.