Scottish renewables company to shed more than 70 jobs
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More than 70 staff could be made redundant at a Scottish wind firm.
CS Wind, which employs 94 workers, has announced that up to 73 jobs (three-quarters of the workforce) are to go at its factory based in Campbeltown, which is the only UK facility manufacturing onshore and offshore wind towers.
The Unite union said the firm has attributed the announcement to “present gaps in the order book” despite accounts lodged by the company in April this year showing that the directors see the future outlook for the next financial year as “positive”.
CS Wind posted pre-tax profits in 2018 of £7.1 million, up from a loss of £191,000 in 2017.
The factory has been fully operational since January 2002 with it having recently been purchased by the South Korean company CS Wind in April 2016, with a £27m investment being made in the facility. Danish firm Ørsted also made a multi-million-pound investment in the facility in December 2016.
In addition, CS Wind signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Swedish company Vattenfall which gave the company the opportunity to tender for tower supply contracts on future Vattenfall onshore wind farm projects.
Unite is calling for the Scottish Government to immediately reconvene its Offshore Wind Summit and to provide support to the workforce.
Charlie Macdonald, Unite regional industrial officer, said: “The news of the redundancy notices affecting three-quarters of the workforce at CS Wind in Campbeltown is a major blow to Scotland’s renewables manufacturing capacity. CS Wind is another example of the spaghetti bowl of multi-national interests calling the shots in our nation’s renewables sector with scant regard for workers and communities.
“There needs to be urgent intervention by the Scottish Government because if the scale of these job losses goes unchallenged not only is there is a major cloud over the future of the factory in Campbeltown but also over Scotland’s green manufacturing capacity.”
Energy minister Paul Wheelhouse said there was a commitment to “do all we can to support the company in their attempts to secure future work for the site”.
He added: “We have also been working with Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Argyll and Bute Council to support infrastructure investment locally in an effort to enhance infrastructure of the site.”
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