Bombardier didn't win its bid for the Thameslink contract and is making 446 permanent staff redundant. Over 900 contractors will have their contracts terminated. Shedding contractors like that has been standard practice in the UK for past 20 years with the rail carriage manufacturers - I've worked for Railcare 3 times, both before and after it was bought out as a joint venture between Bombardier and Siemens, then sold off to Alstom. Contractors get brought in en masse once a contract is awarded, then renewed on a rolling weekly basis until the contracts run out.
This is not good news for Derbyshire as another 1400 skilled engineers swell the ranks of 15000 unemployed. I'm hoping that none of the people I worked with in the '90s are affected.
If you've landed on this page because of the redundancy or Derbyshire links and you're worried about your future, consider taking a look at my Kleeneze business and please get in touch. I've worked in the rail industry, I understand the challenges and you never know, we may even have mutual friends.
