The US-driven downturn in Britain's electronics sector gathered pace yesterday amid fears that Motorola will today announce the closure of its Bathgate plant near Edinburgh with the loss of 3,200 jobs.
Meanwhile Marconi, the telecoms equipment maker, confirmed it would axe 1,500 jobs in Britain and a similar number abroad, but said it would meet profit forecasts despite the slowdown.
Scottish executive officials said the future of Motorola's Bathgate factory "appeared to be bleak".
Motorola has already set in train plans to cut 22,000 jobs worldwide, including 700 in Swindon, partly because of slack demand for mobile phones.
Shares in Marconi rose as investors breathed a sigh of relief that it would make operating profits of around £800m for the year ending March 31. They closed at 341p, up 31p.
Restructuring is expected to cost Marconi £400m but chief executive George Simpson said: "In a volatile sector, Marconi continues to deliver good top-line growth."
The 1,500 job losses in Britain are likely to most affect plants in Liverpool and Coventry. Wherever possible, redundancies are to be made on a voluntary basis.
Marconi stressed a commitment to proceed with plans to establish new, hi-tech plants on greenfield sites at Ansty, near Coventry, Nottingham and Northampton. Last May it received a £25m regional assistance grant for Ansty, where 2,200 jobs could be created.
The MSF union reacted angrily to the job losses and complained about a lack of consultation. Union officials are meeting local shop stewards today, and industrial action has not been ruled out.
"Marconi seems hellbent on rewarding their staff with the sack despite the profits they have made. Our members learned of Marconi's plans in Sunday newspapers; this is no way to reward loyal staff," said Glyn Thomas of the MSF.
But John Mayo, deputy chief executive, said his company had sent out repeated offers to union officials to attend meetings which had not been taken up. Marconi is expected to cut a third of the jobs at its Edge Lane plant in Liverpool, located on the boundary of the Kensington "new deal" area that has received £62.4m of public money.
Electronics group Siemens is to cut 2,000 jobs at its mobile telecoms division in Germany - 25% of the workforce.
Useful links
Motorola
Marconi
Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union
