Commenting on the announcement by Amazon of its intentions to close its Gourock distribution centre with the loss of approximately 300 jobs, Councillor Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council, said:

“I’m bitterly disappointed that Amazon has launched a consultation to close the Gourock warehouse and the devastating knock-on effect that would have on the wider Inverclyde community, particularly the 300 people whose livelihoods are now at risk.

“We need more new jobs for the area and to retain existing ones, not lose one of our biggest employers. That’s precisely why the Inverclyde socio-economic task force was created jointly by ourselves and the Scottish Government to try and identify opportunities for the area.

“Given the scale of the issue and precedent of previous interventions at Ferguson Marine, twice, and Texas Instruments, government, and government agencies must be ready to step in to do what they can to protect the community from the impact of this.

“As a leading partner in the task force and partner in previous jobs interventions, we stand ready to support efforts to protect and retain jobs.”