Union says Doncaster rail firm will 'close works and make 760 jobs redundant'

Wabtec Rail, which is based in Hexthorpe, announced plans last month to axe 450 jobs at its Doncaster factory.

Now bosses from the RMT rail union say the firm has hinted it could close the works completely and sell off the land – in addition to an increased number of job losses.

Mick Cash, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers’ Union said: “Further information has been provided to the union with the company’s real intentions for its workforce.

“If making 450 redundancies was not bad enough, the company have now said that it will actually make 760 posts redundant, including all 682 manual graded staff, still cutting the 450 posts from the worforce but forcing the remainder into newly created posts with different contracts of employment and associated terms and conditions.

“Additionally – and even more outrageously – the company has stated that if it does not achieve its aims through consultation and negotiations with the union, then it will dismiss all staff and re-engage those it needs to continue the business.

“Not only that, but Wabtec has also hinted that it may even close the entire site down and sell off the premises and land.

“We will not accept our members being treated in the way that Wabtec are trying to do and are wholly against any redundancies. We are obviously in very difficult and worrying times for workers throughout our industry, but the way in which Wabtec management are acting in this manner is quite unacceptable.

Last month, the RMT said the job losses were ‘smuggled out under the cloak of the Covid-19 crisis’.

In June, all 952 staff at the historic Doncaster Works site on Hexthorpe Road – birthplace of famous steam locomotive the Flying Scotsman – were told there is not enough work for everyone, ahead of a 45-day consultation period.

The union says employees will go between August and March 2021 but there will be more than 100 redundancies in August.

Wabtec Corporation is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It employs 27,000 people in 50 countries and supplies components and services to the global rail industry. It is one of the 500 largest firms in the US and has $8bn turnover.

The Doncaster Works, on a 22-acre site beside the East Coast mainline, has a long history in the construction and maintenance of trains.

A Wabtec spokesman said Doncaster Works had completed most of its refurbishment contracts and the firm planned to ‘realign’ the site.

He added: “The transit rail industry in the United Kingdom is changing, as rail operators are updating their fleets with new rolling stock rather than refurbishing existing trains. In 2019, Wabtec’s Doncaster site completed most of its refurbishment projects and has a strategy in place to fulfill the remaining commitments. Given these realities, Wabtec is proposing to realign the site to focus on projects best suited for its operational strengths and better position the facility for long-term success.

“Decisions like this are never easy, but it will improve the site’s cost competitiveness and offer customers the best value. The proposed realignment includes a gradual workforce reduction of up to 450 employees from the third quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021.

“The Company will enter a 45-day consultation period with the trade union and employee representatives to discuss the proposal and improved work practices. “Wabtec is focused on meeting customer commitments and providing impacted employees with resources and benefits needing during this transition.”