Seagate: Technology company announces 70 job losses at Londonderry plant

Staff were told of the job losses at a meeting on Monday

Seventy people are to lose their jobs at Seagate technologies in Londonderry.

Staff were told during a meeting with senior management at the company's Springtown base.

Seagate, which designs and manufactures hard drive storage devices, currently has about 1,400 staff, making it one of the north west's biggest employers.

It said it was "undertaking a number of actions to better position the company for success and growth and to respond to new demand levels".

"Unfortunately the required actions include some reduction in the company's workforce," it added.

"It is not easy to make decisions that affect people's lives in this way, but we believe this is the best way forward for the company right now.

"At the Springtown facility, approximately 70 employees (about 5% of our headcount) will be affected by this action."

The company said there would be both voluntary and enforced redundancies.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the news was "a bitter blow to the staff, their families and to the wider Derry economy".

He said he would raise the matter in the assembly and would also seek a meeting with senior management at Seagate.

In recent years, the market for hard drives has seen increased competition from the faster more efficient solid state hard drives (SSD).

Seagate currently manufactures both, but its share in the SSD market is lower than its competitors.

In 2014, the firm announced the creation of 35 new jobs at its Springtown base as part of a £34.7m investment in research and development.

Invest NI offered £7.8m of assistance, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.