Carrick firm responds over jobs '˜going elsewhere' concern

The company, which acquired Schrader Electronics in 2014, last week announced plans to reduce its Meadowbank Road workforce by 125 following a review of operations and because of a drop in expected demand for some products manufactured locally.

In the wake of the shock announcement by a business demonstrating growth in recent years, East Antrim MLA John Stewart said: “The official reason given for the planned cut in jobs is a drop in demand for their tyre pressure monitoring systems in the European market, but it is not clear yet if these jobs are going elsewhere, given that Sensata is a firm with a global presence.”

Asked if the Carrickfergus-based jobs could go to other parts of the company/globe, a Sensata spokesperson said today: “We are working through this assessment during the consultation process.”

It also confirmed the number of posts that could potentially be lost following reports that 275 employees have been told their jobs are ‘at risk’.

The spokesperson said: “Approximately 275 Sensata employees are being placed at risk and following the collective consultation period this will result in a potential head count reduction of up to 125.”

Meanwhile, the company, which has almost 400 permanent employees in Carrickfergus, declined to comment on a Unite (union) statement rejecting its explanation for the redundancies and calling for “more justification for what amounts to a huge reduction in the workforce”.

Sensata, which also has a site in Antrim where employees were not impacted by last Friday’s announcement, has also emphasised its commitment to maintaining its manufacturing base in the province.