Alstom: Production at train maker set to stop with 3,000 jobs at risk

Alstom's managing director Nick Crossfield said he could no longer guarantee a presence in Derby

Production of new stock at the UK's largest rail assembly factory could stop on Thursday, with 3,000 jobs at risk.

Nick Crossfield, managing director of Alstom, said the possible job losses at the Litchurch Lane site in Derby would have a "considerable" impact on the national supply chain.

He said the company could no longer guarantee a presence in the city.

Production is nearing its end, with an 18-month gap until the next order.

On Wednesday, Mr Crossfield told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that activity would diminish in the upcoming months.

"Between now and May, June we will go down to very little, or no, activity, in what is one of the group's largest facilities worldwide," he said.

Alstom's Litchurch Lane factory in Derby has no confirmed workload beyond the first quarter of 2024

The move, he said, could have an impact beyond the city.

"The jobs on site support a further 12,000 to 15,000 in the national supply chain that we support here," Mr Crossfield added.

"Once you lose that capability in the UK, even when we bid future work into the UK, it's highly likely that activity would come from a supply chain outside of the UK."

In December, representatives from the company and Derby City Council visited London to lobby Parliament about a lack of orders.

Baggy Shanker, leader of the city council, said a meeting was due to take place later to discuss next steps.

He said: "I think it's come to the point where the government needs to back UK manufacturing and make a decision. It's gone on for far too long.

"The uncertainty is causing real concern for workers at Alstom but also thousands of workers in the supply chain.

"People I've spoken to at Alstom are telling me production lines are becoming empty. Worryingly, stores with components for manufacturing are becoming empty as well.

"Once we lose this facility I just don't think there's any way of coming back."

Workers have faced uncertainty for several months

Heather Wheeler, Conservative MP for South Derbyshire, said she did not expect the factory to close.

She told BBC Radio Derby: "These negotiations are still ongoing and are absolutely at the point of having a successful outcome, so I was really surprised to hear Nick's [Crossfield] comments this morning. I think somebody somewhere is being disingenuous.

"There is ongoing work with the refurbishment work so there should be no shutdown of the factory. I know that there is another deal on trains coming forward."

But Margaret Beckett, Labour MP for Derby South, said: "I can't share the confidence she [Heather Wheeler] expressed about how the government knows all about it and has got it all sorted, it's just everybody else who's got it wrong.

"I just listened to the rail industry... they're all saying the same thing as Alstom."

Chris Hobson, from the East Midlands Chamber, described the situation as "really concerning".

He said: "We've had a lot of uncertainty around forward orders when it comes to our manufacturing in the UK for a while now and that's what's led us to this position.

"Businesses can't cope with uncertainty indefinitely and it's really important we get some clear messages as early as possible from the government about what its intentions are."