UP TO 1,000 jobs are at risk after an electronics firm confirmed it had been unable to find a buyer for its plant.
"Continuing efforts to market the facility as a going concern have not led to a sale," said Rob Hatley, a spokesman for the Texas-based Freescale semiconductor factory.
"Given that a sale appears unlikely, the company will now begin a formal co
nsultation process with employees to consider further options for the facility and to seek their views on the factory's future."
He said technological advances in semiconductors had led to a long-term decline in demand for products made at the East Kilbride plant, which includes microchips for mobile phones and car engines.
The gloomy news for the Freescale factory yesterday came two days after credit card firm Barclaycard announced plans to close its Goldfish call centre in Cumbernauld, losing 900 jobs.
And two weeks ago, 360 jobs were axed with the announced closure of a JVC television factory, also in East Kilbride.
However, Scottish business leaders said the redundancies were not related.
Freescale announced the sale of its East Kilbride operation last summer. It was opened nearly 40 years ago and the workforce includes 750 involved in manufacturing.
The union Unite condemn-ed the news. Jimmy Farrelly, a senior industrial officer, said: "The announcement comes as no surprise, but Unite has continuously asked Freescale to come clean over the future of plant for more than a year.
"In spite of management's claims that they were actively looking for a buyer to save the plant, there has been an unacceptable veil of secrecy over their actions.
"The workforce deserve so much better, given the loyalty and hard work they have shown down the years."
The Scottish Chambers of Commerce said that while some areas of manufacturing were shrinking, others – such as pharmaceuticals and optics – were expanding, and the sector was growing overall.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Recent trends suggest that Scotland's labour market remains strong and continues to outperform the UK, with higher employment, lower unemployment and higher activity rates."
The full article contains 354 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
