Bombardier to cut 60 jobs in Northern Ireland

Bombardier has made a series of job cuts over the past two years

The aerospace firm Bombardier is cutting another 60 jobs in Northern Ireland.

The positions are being cut from the complementary labour force - agency workers who are employed alongside permanent staff.

The firm has been under financial pressure, and has made a series of job cuts over the past two years.

In December, its staff in NI rejected changes to their terms and conditions as part of a cost saving plan.

The company said it faced a "serious financial crisis" and there was a "business necessity" to cut costs by 20% by 2017.

However, the plan was overwhelmingly rejected by staff, with some of them saying it would have meant a significant drop in take home pay.

In a statement, Bombardier said its "manpower situation is kept under constant review".

"We have reviewed our latest requirements based on current customer demand and, as a result, will be making adjustments to the composition of our complementary labour force, who work alongside our permanent employees," it added.

"We have informed the provider of our complementary labour force that we need to release approximately 60 people from particular assignments with us."

The trade union, Unite, said it was disappointed at the announcement by Bombardier but would continue to engage with the firm to "seek to safeguard Belfast employment".

"These job losses would be another blow for the Northern Ireland manufacturing sector and come on the back of significant job loss announcements elsewhere across Northern Ireland at the end of last year," Davy Thompson, regional coordinating officer with Unite said.

"This announcement highlights the scale of the ongoing challenges facing the sector."