SDLP Foyle MP Colum Eastwood has sought clarity on the level of Executive subvention provided to the BT Group over recent years following the announcement of proposals to close the company’s Derry office with the loss of 140 jobs which will be transferred to Belfast and India.
Mr Eastwood said that patterns of investment from the Executive’s jobs agency Invest NI have seen millions of pounds of taxpayer money given to the BT Group to diversify their Belfast base while shedding hundreds of jobs in offices across the North.
Derry’s MP has written to the Economy Minister to seek her intervention with BT bosses in the context of the significant investment her Department has made in the company.
Colum Eastwood MP said: “This week’s announcement that the BT Group plans to close its Derry office and transfer 140 jobs to Belfast and India will have a significant impact on people, families and the economy here.
“There’s no sugar coating it, this is a big blow.
“The decision is made harder to stomach by the fact that the BT Group has enjoyed significant investment from the Executive through Invest NI over the last decade.
“The pattern of these investments, largely to help the company expand its operations in Belfast is, however a serious cause for concern.
“Invest NI provided £9m for the BT Ireland Innovation Centre in Belfast in 2017 and a further £240,000 to help the company establish a legal hub in the city in 2020.
“The 2019 BT Group modernisation programme has subsequently recommended the closure of the Enniskillen site with a loss of 307 staff in 2023 and now the closure of the Derry site with the loss of 140 roles, some of which will be transferred to Belfast.
“It appears that Invest NI’s funding decisions have incentivised a process of consolidating BT’s business in Northern Ireland to Belfast which has precipitated the loss of vital jobs in communities like Derry.
“Given the substantial public investment in the company, I have written to the Economy Minister seeking her direct intervention with senior leadership at BT to put a stop to the flight of jobs from places like Derry.
“Regional economic balance has to be a priority for the Executive and decisions like this are where the rubber meets the road. Ministers have to step up and step in to support workers and the economy in Derry.”
