Stormy Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Britains last train builder, Bombardier, has just announced that at least 1400 jobs will be lost at its Derby site, which has been manufacturing trains for 170 years. The government recently awarded a £1.4 billion contract to build 1200 vehicles to rival German bidder Siemens. Not only are 1400 jobs going, but there are upto 12000 jobs in the uk supply chain which are now at risk. The government is bleating about EU procurment rules, claiming their hands are tied but it is nonsense, SNCF award 100% of contracts to Alstom in France and DB Schenker award 100% of contracts to Siemens. There is talk of the Siemens bid creating jobs in the uk but this is disengenuous as the jobs will be in maintainance and would have been created with the Bombardier bid. And this from the government who claim they are creating conditions ripe for private industry to step in where the public sector shrinks and who claim to be on the side of manufacturers in this country. A sad day for Derby. Unable to post link as on phone but its all over news sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj.scuba Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 You have to look at the bids. Why were Siemens favoured over Bombardier? Was it cost? Were they offering a better product? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truman Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 On the radio this morning the guy from Bombardier said 1,000 of those jobs were going whether or not they won the contract.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crookesey Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Britains last train builder, Bombardier, has just announced that at least 1400 jobs will be lost at its Derby site, which has been manufacturing trains for 170 years. The government recently awarded a £1.4 billion contract to build 1200 vehicles to rival German bidder Siemens. Not only are 1400 jobs going, but there are upto 12000 jobs in the uk supply chain which are now at risk. The government is bleating about EU procurment rules, claiming their hands are tied but it is nonsense, SNCF award 100% of contracts to Alstom in France and DB Schenker award 100% of contracts to Siemens. There is talk of the Siemens bid creating jobs in the uk but this is disengenuous as the jobs will be in maintainance and would have been created with the Bombardier bid. And this from the government who claim they are creating conditions ripe for private industry to step in where the public sector shrinks and who claim to be on the side of manufacturers in this country. A sad day for Derby. Unable to post link as on phone but its all over news sites And Labour created countless jobs did they? Just ask the ordinary bank employees. Oh sorry I forgot, they were all in the public sector, were they not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 Im not defending labour, theyre just as bad, offering the IEP to a company based in a country who basically close the industry to outside tendering. Whether or not this protectionism is right or wrong is irrelevant if our companies are not allowed a level playing field. As for the 1000 jobs, they were contractors whose contracts were to be expired then rehired, as is pretty standard in this sector. The more worrying statistic is the 400 skilled permanant staff who will be made redundant. The bid was awarded on headline cost, ie what would cost the taxpayer less although the problem with doing it this way is it takes no account of social and local economic cost. Both companies have proven records and have recently had a few problems with newer products although neither really worse than the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alien52 Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Bombardier is a Canadian company with it's European HQ in Germany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 Bombardier is a Canadian company with it's European HQ in Germany. And their passenger division is based in Derby... Im not sure how the nationality of the company or where their head office is based is relevant? Jobs are jobs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 They should have made a more competitive tender shouldn't they, rather than relying on the fact that they're in the UK to swing the contract in their favour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Erikson Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Why are the government to blame. They likely went for the best bid. It's Bombadier's fault if they can't compete. Though lets blame the nasty government for choosing a more suitable train. Maybe we should let any old British firm have any contract regardless of skill. Would you care for a crap, unsafe system if it meant more British jobs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 This is true and im sure questions will be asked as to why it wasn't the most competitive bid. But when Germany, France and even Japan employ protectionist policies, the question has to be asked why we do not do the same in some cases. 1400 jobs going to the wall plus countless more in the supply chain hardly gives the taxpayer value for money, especially when both companies have proven track records. This isnt about a superior product, it is simply about money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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