Network Rail jobs for Rover workers
Around 200 workers made redundant following the collapse of MG Rover could gain employment with Network Rail.
The company has 192 vacancies in the Birmingham area and believes the engineering skills held by many MG Rover workers could be successfully integrated into the rail industry.
A jobs fair is now being planned for the 5,000 employees who lost their jobs after the collapse of a takeover deal being brokered between the British car manufacturer and the Chinese firm Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC).
Iain Coucher, chief executive of Network Rail, described the MG Rover workforce at the Longbridge plant as a “pool of talent”.
“We have identified nearly 200 jobs in the immediate Birmingham area and would very much like to help local people by filling all those posts with Longbridge employees,” he said.
“This is a great opportunity for MG Rover workers to apply their skills to a new environment. It’s a great opportunity for Network Rail to attract new employees with proven ability and professionalism.”
Should Network Rail fill its vacant positions with MG Rover workers, total salary costs would amount to about £8 million. The investment needed to retrain the workforce is being estimated to be between £3 million and £5 million.
Meanwhile, SAIC has reportedly approached suppliers who were badly hit by the collapse of the takeover deal about making Rover cars either in China or at Longbridge.
Jerry Blacket of Birmingham’s chamber of commerce said: “The possibility that first-tier suppliers may be able to sell to SAIC offers a glimmer of hope to those companies hit hard by the MG Rover demise.”
