Slump in mobile demand sparked jobs catastrophe

Published on Wednesday 10 September 2003 01:00

WHILE current signs are encouraging, the closures of the Motorola and NEC factories marked one of the darkest periods in West Lothian’s manufacturing history.

Motorola’s closure of its Bathgate mobile phone plant in 2001 resulted in the loss of 3100 jobs.

The United States-based multinational blamed a global decline in the demand for mobile phones for the decision, which came a month after the company announced it was planning to shed 7000 jobs worldwide.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, who had intervened personally in an attempt to get the company to change its mind, described the decision to close the plant as "a bitter blow".

However, almost 90 per cent of the staff who were made redundant when the plant closed later found work.

A taskforce launched to tackle the jobs crisis in West Lothian after the firm announced the redundancies spent about 4 million on retraining employees.

In 2001, NEC Semiconductors announced 600 job losses at the plant in Livingston, but vowed to try and save the facility from closing completely.

But the whole plant eventually closed in April last year with the loss of all 1260 staff due to a slump in demand for microchips, which are made at NEC. Production was switched to China.

West Lothian alone lost more than 5700 jobs in 2000, mostly in manufacturing. Until 2001, electronics comprised more than 60 per cent of Scotland’s total exports - a figure that now sits closer to 50 per cent.