COUNCIL leader Stephen McCabe has appealed to the Scottish Government to help stem the flow of jobs from Inverclyde after communications giant EE announced plans to remove nearly 450 posts from the area.

Councillor McCabe has issued a plea to new Cabinet Secretary Màiri McAllan for urgent government intervention to try and persuade BT Group, which owns EE, from closing the company’s Greenock office which would take the total number of job losses locally to almost 1,200 in little over 18 months.

The telecommunications giant announced last week (Thursday 8 February 2024) that it intends to vacate its Cartsburn base after 25 years with the 450-strong workforce being relocated to Glasgow.

If the move does go ahead, it would mean close to 1,200 jobs have been lost from Inverclyde since the formation of a socio-economic task force in June 2022 following the departure of other major employers such as Amazon, IBM, and the Berry BPI manufacturing operation.

The task force was set up by the council at the request of Scotland’s former finance secretary to bring key stakeholders, including both UK and Scottish governments, together to see what support they could provide to the council to address issues of deprivation, employment, and depopulation. 

Cllr McCabe has now reached out directly to Ms McAllan, the new Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy, seeking urgent talks to see how both the council and government can work together to try and keep EE jobs in Inverclyde in the short term but also to see what can be done to bring jobs to the area in future.

In his letter, Mr McCabe says: “The council is limited in what it can do to stop employers like EE from packing up and moving away.

“The council is even more limited in terms of available resources in which to develop the type of infrastructure required to maintain existing employers, let alone attract new ones.

“Government, however, has many levers at its disposal to support communities like Inverclyde and support our shared ambition of seeing this area and our community thrive once more.

“That’s why I am appealing to you in your capacity as Cabinet Secretary for urgent support and intervention from the Scottish Government to help us stem the flow of vital jobs from the area.

“By working with the council, we may be able to offer a joint package of support to the BT Group to persuade them to reverse their decision to leave Inverclyde.”

Cllr McCabe highlighted that even though EE have said there will be no compulsory redundancies from the 450-strong Greenock workforce, there will likely be job losses as not all staff will be able to transfer to Glasgow.

The council leader also raised concerns about the knock-on effect to the local economy of losing such a large and long-established employer.

Mr McCabe said: “I believe an emergency meeting with key stakeholders is appropriate and would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and government colleagues to discuss what support the government can provide to, in the first instance, persuade EE to remain in Greenock, but also to look at how we can work together to create opportunities for new jobs in Inverclyde.”

The full text of the letter is as follows:

Dear Màiri,

Following the shock announcement from BT Group, owners of EE, of their intention to close their site in Greenock and transfer around 450 local jobs out of the area to Glasgow, this will take the total number of jobs lost in Inverclyde to almost 1,200 in little over 18 months.

These jobs have all been lost since the formation of the Inverclyde Socio-Economic Task Force, of which the Scottish Government is a key member. The Task Force was specifically established on the advice of your former Cabinet colleague Kate Forbes to allow the Council to work directly with both the Scottish and UK governments and other stakeholders to address the serious issues of deprivation and lack of employment opportunities, which are badly affecting Inverclyde and to seek opportunities for long-term growth and success.

To date, we have lost major, long-standing employers, including IBM, Amazon, Berry BPI (manufacturing operation), and now it looks like we will lose EE, which has been operating in Greenock in one guise or another for nearly 25 years.

The socio economic impacts of these job losses affect local suppliers, transport operators, and the Inverclyde economy in general. There is also the heightened risk of further depopulation with people either being forced to move out of the area for work or to seek better opportunities. EE, for example, has announced that there will be no redundancies should they move staff from Greenock to Glasgow. It is unlikely that all staff will transfer to Glasgow so there will be some negative direct impact on Inverclyde residents.

The Council is limited in what it can do to stop employers like EE from packing up and moving away. The Council is even more limited in terms of available resources in which to develop the type of infrastructure required to maintain existing employers, let alone attract new ones. Government, however, has many levers at its disposal to support communities like Inverclyde and support our shared ambition of seeing this area and our community thrive once more.

That’s why I am appealing to you in your capacity as Cabinet Secretary for urgent support and intervention from the Scottish Government to help us stem the flow of vital jobs from the area. By working with the Council, we may be able to offer a joint package of support to the BT Group to persuade them to reverse their decision to leave Inverclyde.

I believe an emergency meeting with key stakeholders is appropriate and would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and government colleagues to discuss what support the government can provide to, in the first instance, persuade EE to remain in Greenock, but also to look at how we can work together to create opportunities for new jobs in Inverclyde.

I look forward to hearing from you as a matter of urgency.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen

Councillor Stephen McCabe,

Leader of Inverclyde Council