Job threat at Vector Aerospace in Almondbank

Dec 15 2009 by Andrew Welsh, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

UNCERTAINTY again surrounds the future of workers at a Perthshire aviation repairs plant, it emerged yesterday.

In a sudden and unexpected development, staff employed by Vector Aerospace could be facing redundancy in the wake of the Almondbank site’s operators losing out on a string of key orders.

The plant, formerly the Defence Aviation Repair Agency, was privatised two years ago following its protracted sale by the Ministry of Defence to the Canadian firm.

At that time, unions were vocal in their defence of the workforce, who carry out component maintenance on military helicopters, ensuring no jobs were lost.

But when contacted by the PA yesterday, Vector director Ian Burnett was unwilling to rule out potential redundancies at Almondbank, insisting instead that the firm was keeping all its options open.

“I can confirm that our contracts with one customer are due to expire and that we are in discussions with them about the way ahead and potential implications for a small number of our employees,” said Mr Burnett.

“While one of the options under consideration is the transfer of the work to the customer’s site, retention of the work at Almondbank is also under consideration.

“Discussions are at an early stage and the employees concerned are being kept fully up to date with the progress.”