Troubled Scottish manufacturer Burntisland Fabrication (BiFab) will see its Arnish yard mothballed today despite accounts indicating the firm stemmed its haemorrhaging losses by over £42 million.
BiFab’s financial statements for 2018 show the company cut pre-tax losses from £48.6m in 2017 to £4.6m.
But the last remaining staff at the firm will today lose their jobs just days before Christmas.
GMB Union senior organiser Louise Gilmour last night penned an angry letter to Scotland’s Secretary of State, Andrew Jack.
She described the situation for BiFab as “a complete failure” by government to secure a reasonable share of industrial supply chain-work for Scottish firms.
She also accused offshore wind developers in Scotland of “shipping off” lucrative fabrication contracts abroad.
Work has petered out at BiFab’s facility on the Isle of Lewis since it completed fabrication work for the Moray East Offshore Wind Farm project.
It created more than 100 jobs and revitalised the Lewis facility back in March.
EDF Renewables confirmed in last month that BiFab would fabricate “at least” eight foundation turbine jackets on the 54-turbine Neart Na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore wind project.
A further deal for the manufacture of up to 150 turbine pin piles at Arnish is also understood to be up for grabs.
But despite claims BiFab’s Canadian owner DF Barnes is “very close” to a deal with project contractor Saipem, no contract has yet been agreed.
Ms Gilmour claimed the current “legacy” of offshore wind in Scotland is “empty fabrication yards” and wind turbine parts that are “shipped to our shores from Europe, the Far East and the Middle East”.
The Scottish Government refused to comment.