Fokker setback raises further doubts on future of Shorts jobs

THE chance of saving 1,500 jobs at the Belfast aerospace company Short Brothers has been further jeopardised after its parent company Bombardier decided not to bid for the troubled Dutch planemaker Fokker.

The Canadian aerospace giant Bombardier yesterday decided that the risks were too great to plough the estimated £1 billion necessary into rescuing Fokker.

The future of Fokker and of 1,500 jobs at Short Brothers in Belfast which supplies wings for Fokker, and of a further 1,500 ancillary jobs in Northern Ireland, now largely rests on whether another company can be found to bail out the Dutch company.

Ironically, the Bombardier announcement came as Shorts was announcing a £53 million investment project which should create an additional 375 new jobs at the company over the next four years.

Several companies are interested in purchasing elements of the Dutch company but, at this stage, the South Korean aerospace company Samsung seems to be the only concern interested in Fokker as a single unit.

The Dutch government said yesterday it would extend the bridging credit available to Fokker by 15 million guilders (£5.8 million) for a maximum of two weeks. The existing credit, granted on January 23rd, was due to run out this week.

"The time to decide on Fokker's future is ticking away," the Dutch Economics Minister, Mr Hans Wijers, told a joint news conference. "The coming days... will be decisive for Fokker."

He said Fokker's administrators would consider a solution and the Dutch state would only grant the extra bridging credit if one of two scenarios - a take-over by Samsung or a stand-alone solution - was likely. Fokker signalled it was prepared to go it alone, should no bid emerge.

Should Fokker be broken up it could be ominous for the 1,500 workers at Shorts. As the aircraft division of Fokker has been sustaining heavy losses it may be the most likely part of the company to go to the wall if there is no single purchaser.

Because of the doubts over Fokker's future 1,500 workers at Shorts remain on protective notice. The other main potential investor in Fokker, Samsung, is still evaluating whether it would be in its interests to bail out the company.

A Shorts spokesman said yesterday that the company was keeping in close contact with Fokker. "We hope by the end of this week the way forward will become more clear," he said.

Meanwhile, Shorts yesterday announced a new £53 million investment which should create 375 new jobs by the year 2000.

Bombardier has awarded Shorts the contract to make components for the Bombardier Global Express "ultra long-range" business jet.

Bombardier hoes to test the new aircraft by September this year, and to begin delivering the Jet to customers next year. Several other major aerospace manufacturers such as BMW-Rolls Royce, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Canadair are partners in the Global Express project.