The Scottish Government has revealed that it sought to “assist” a troubled wind energy manufacturer prior to job losses that could see up to 80 redundancies at the firm.
It was confirmed yesterday that Campbeltown-headquartered CS Wind had made 28 staff redundant, with more expected to follow.
The Scottish Government said today that it had “explored all areas” where it might be able to assist the firm but found no “legal route” to do so.
It added that any attempt to “gap fund” manufacturing at the firm would have breached State Aid rules.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “This has been a very difficult time for workers at the CS Wind tower facility at Machrihanish and our priority has been to support the company in its attempts to secure future work for the site.
“We have explored all areas where we can assist the company to retain its workforce, such as funding infrastructure improvements to lower transport costs, but the Scottish Government does not have a legal route to gap fund manufacturing itself as this would constitute a breach of State Aid regulations.
“The Rural Economy Secretary hosted an economic summit in Campbeltown bringing together local stakeholders, the Scottish Government, our agencies and local employers to identify possible economic opportunities for the area.
“In the event of any employees ultimately facing redundancy, which we are working hard to avoid, we would provide support through our Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) initiative.”
CS Wind, a wind turbine tower manufacturer, employs around 94 people at its facility in Argyll on the west coast of Scotland.
The firm made a £27 million investment in the site in 2016 and reported pre-tax profits in excess of £7m in 2018.
Unite union said yesterday CS Wind were continuing to “fight for various contracts” but that the job losses were due to “gaps” in the firm’s order book.
CS Wind has been contacted for comment.
Recommended for you
