600 jobs on the line at Leeds engineering firm
WEST YORKSHIRE engineering firm OneSubsea has warned that it may have to cut down major operations with 600 jobs on the line as a result.
Staff have been told operations may cease by 2017, a move which came “out of the blue” according to union officials.
The company employs 929 staff in Leeds, and specialises in providing solutions for the subsea oil and gas market.
It said it would hold a 45-day consultation. The company, a subsidiary oilfield services giant Schlumberger, won a $300m contract with Woodside Energy earlier this year.
In a statement it said: “The oil and gas industry is going through the most severe downturn of the past 30 years, with operators significantly reducing their investment. This scenario has dramatically impacted OneSubsea order intake, leaving many of our plants underutilized.
“We are considering a proposal to cease manufacturing, assembly and test activities in Leeds during 2017. We understand the impact of this announcement on our employees and the local community.
“This is only a proposal at this stage and we will be conducting consultation with the unions and employee representatives and make every effort to try and mitigate as much as possible the impact on our employees.”
Chris Daly, regional officer for Unite, which has 300 members at the site, said: “This is appalling news that came out of the blue. We knew that there was a downturn in the oil price, but we had no inkling about the scale of such job losses.
“This is a devastating blow for the workers and their families and, more widely, it will have an adverse effect on the Yorkshire economy – these are skilled jobs that we can’t afford to lose as a manufacturing nation.”
