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Bombardier won't confirm UK layoffs
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The Canadian Press
Bombardier Transportation will unveil its plans Tuesday for Britain's lone rail car plant but officials declined to confirm that up to 2,000 workers will lose their jobs at the facility in Derby.
The Berlin-based division of the transportation giant said it will first meet with union officials and then hold a news conference in the town in central England.
But other than confirming that a news conference would be held, spokesman Marc Laforge could not provide further details. Only last week, he said the company was far from disclosing any layoff plan.
The announcement of Bombardier's redundancy plan would give employees 90 days to come up with alternatives to mitigate any layoffs.
Several reports in Britain said the company would put plans in place to lay off up to two-thirds of the workforce at its railway manufacturing facility in Derby.
Four of five rail contracts at the site will end by September and a consortium led by Bombardier recently lost a contract to supply 1,200 new Thameslink trains to rival Siemens.
Siemens bid 'best value'
The opposition Labour party has asked the coalition government to review naming the German rival as the preferred bidder. The government said it viewed the Siemens bid to be "the best value for money for taxpayers."
Laforge denied that any company announcement is designed to put pressure on the government to award it the contract before the deal is finalized.
"We live with decisions and like anybody in that business, any competitors, we have to work accordingly with what we have in the backlog," he said in an interview.
The Thameslink contract was the second loss for the manufacturing plant in more than two years.
Bombardier's Derby plant is currently producing subway cars for London's Underground system, trains for National Express East Anglia and turbostars for Chiltern and London Midland.
Analysts had expected the latest contract loss would affect the Derby facility, which employs 3,000 workers.
On the Toronto Stock Exchange Monday, Bombardier shares closed down four cents at $6.91.
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