NORTEL NETWORKS, the Canadian telecommunications group which is in administration, is to axe 87 jobs in Northern Ireland as part of its restructuring drive.
The group’s 34-acre facility in Monkstown is the headquarters of Nortel’s EMEA Supply Chain Operations. Nortel currently employs fewer than 500 people in the North and 300 in Galway.
The Toronto-headquartered group last month unveiled plans to shrink its global workforce by more than 3,000. This was in addition to previously announced plans to cut nearly 2,000 employees from its pay roll.
The job losses in the North are part of a 220-strong redundancy programme to be implemented across Nortel’s UK operation.
Nortel Networks placed the majority of its European operations in administration in January following its decision to file for bankruptcy protection in the US.
Administrators, who are now involved in the day-to-day management of Nortel’s operations, said they had been working closely with Nortel employees. Union leaders in Northern Ireland however have consistently expressed their concerns about how the global restructuring plan would affect the local workforce.
Terry Collins, the Unite regional organiser, said he remained concerned about the future of the Nortel site in Monkstown.
Mr Collins said the union was not privy to the discussions concerning the restructuring plan but he believed Nortel had an obligation to its employees to hold proper consultations about proposed redundancies.
The Alliance Party’s enterprise spokesman Seán Neeson said yesterday that the job losses would be a massive blow to the North’s economy.
The East Antrim MLA said: “These jobs are highly skilled and well paid. Their loss will hit the community extremely hard.”
