Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Alstom job cuts not connected to HS2 decision, says PM

Alstom has announced plans to make hundreds of staff redundant (Alamy/PA)
Alstom has announced plans to make hundreds of staff redundant (Alamy/PA)

Fears of huge job losses at the UK’s largest rail assembly factory do not have anything to do with the controversial decision to scale back the high-speed HS2 line, according to the Prime Minister.

Alstom is consulting on potential redundancies believed to be around 550 at its train manufacturing site in Derby, while 780 contractors are also at risk.

Unite said a further 900 jobs are under threat in the supply chain, claiming that the proposed job losses are a direct result of the delay in the construction of HS2.

Rishi Sunak said on a visit to the East Midlands on Friday: “Of course, my sympathies go to all the people affected by it.

“I know that it will be an anxious time for them and the local teams on the ground are providing support and making sure that we’ve got a response in place to help all of those people and that’s happening.

“With regard to the reasons for it, I don’t think it’s fair or accurate to characterise that decision by Alstom as a result of the decision on HS2.

“Alstom are actually providing the trains for phase one of HS2 and the issue that they have, as do other companies in that sector, is about their order books next year.

“The government has actually been in dialogue with them for several months about this issue, well before the decision on HS2 was made, and we’ve tried to find ways that we can bring forward other orders to support, for example, and so I don’t think it’s fair or accurate to characterise it as a result decision on HS2.

“But as a result of that decision, this area will receive more funding quicker on the projects that actually matter to people, whether that’s local bus services where we’ve kept the £2 bus fare cap in place, which will help people; potholes, which people would always say as their number one priority for transport spending, which we’ve announced more money today; and the new mayor for this region, Ben Bradley, will have £1.5 billion to spend on transport projects that people in this area will prioritise.

“So I think it is the right long-term decision not just for the country, but particularly for the East Midlands.”

An Alstom spokesperson said: “Alstom UK has been working with the Government for the last six months with the joint objective of securing a sustainable future for our rolling stock factory at Derby Litchurch Lane, which has no confirmed workload beyond the first quarter of 2024.

“No committed way forward has yet been found and therefore it is with deep regret that we must now begin to plan for a significant reduction in activity at Derby by entering a period of collective consultation on potential redundancies at Litchurch Lane.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “There is absolutely no justification for the proposed job losses.

“It is madness that there is a huge amount of work that Alstom could and should be bidding for but the Government has not got around to tendering for it.

“The Government and Alstom should both be bending over backwards to keep hold of these highly skilled workers and this strategically vital and unique site.”