Viberoptix: 100 jobs under threat at NI broadband contractor

Fibrus has been involved in a major contract to improve broadband access in rural areas

At least 100 jobs are under threat at the installation company which works with Fibrus broadband.

Coalisland-based Viberoptix was Fibrus' major contractor on the roll-out of a broadband network in Northern Ireland.

Last week, Fibrus said it was planning up to 60 redundancies as the construction phase of that project is coming to an end.

That is having a knock-on effect to Viberoptix which employs 570 people in NI and England.

The firm has not said how many jobs are under threat, but has started a 90-day consultation, a legal requirement if 100 or more redundancies are planned.

'Exploring diversification'

Viberoptix chief executive, Naomhan McCrory, said he was confident the firm could "pivot" into other work.

However, "in the next weeks and months we will consult closely with our staff about the changing shape of our organisation and we will redeploy where possible".

He added that it would be "exploring diversification into other sectors and with other partners and clients".

The Fibrus network development is known as Project Stratum - a government-backed scheme to improve rural broadband across Northern Ireland.

The total funding for Project Stratum was £165m, with £150m coming from the confidence-and-supply agreement deal signed between the Democratic Unionist Party and the Conservative Party in 2017.

The remaining £15m came from Stormont's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.

That project is due to be completed by March of this year while another Fibrus project in England is at an earlier stage.