Bombardier announces 700 job losses, but Crewe rail force is spared any cuts (From Warrington Guardian)

Bombardier announces 700 job losses, but Crewe rail force is spared any cuts

CREWE'S rail industry has escaped a wave of job losses announced this week by train makers Bombardier.

The company's plans to axe more than 700 jobs from its factories in Derby and Ilford, have been condemned by rail union bosses this week.

Staff at the firm's West End factory in Crewe had been placed in a precarious position in June this year after Bombardier announced losses in its first quarter for 2004.

The plant was issued with an ultimatum in the form of a 90-day improvement plan, but advancements in work quality and an increase in on-time deliveries have helped secure the 1,000 jobs at the factory.

Talking of the latest job losses RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "This is another massive blow to British manufacturing, and we are now facing the bleak prospect of there being no train-making capacity left in Britain at all.

"It is nothing short of insane to see British workers' train-building skills thrown down the drain while contracts for new trains for the Northern and Kent rail franchises are being exported to China and Japan.

"We need action to revitalise British train-making, not more of the free-market dogma that has brought the industry to its knees."