Electronics Weekly puts its questions to a worker, who preferred not to be named, from Freescale Semiconductor's East Kilbride facility, which the firm said it is selling.

Can you tell us what the mood is at the East Kilbride facility?
I suppose you could describe the mood as full of uncertainty with workers all asking each other questions about what's going to happen, when will we know anything, what can happen, what can they do to us, what are our rights? Some people are angry, others carry on clinging to the belief that if it closes then they will get what they are entitled to but also very worried about the private equity owners changing their terms and conditions.

How did the firm announce to the staff that it wants to sell the factory?
We were called to meetings in small individual groups at which a manager verbally told us of the company's decision to look for a buyer. There was no written communication and no questions were able to be answered for the simple reason that he didn't know any more than he was telling us, i.e. we we're looking for a buyer end of story.

Is the factory busy at the moment?
The wafer starts are much the same as they've been over most of this year but the ridiculous aspect of our situation is that they want to increase the starts by 50 per cent to a level we haven't run for many years. This with the target of closing us as soon as possible to maximise the cost savings they want to achieve. The irony is we have to work harder so we can be unemployed sooner. You couldn't write the script.

How long have you worked there/What will it mean for you if the factory is closed?
I've been there 27 years and will be 55 when we close and with a house mortgage and 3 children at home I'll need to get another job as soon as possible. It won't be as an electronics technician because the industry is all but gone.  I'll need to look at anything that brings an income and I'm sure it's not going to be easy to get work. My income will drop significantly but where there's a will there's a way - I might end up in a call centre heaven forbid.

Do you think private equity executives have any idea of the damage they cause to people's lives?
These people only see profits and opportunities to make money and any collateral damage they inflict on people and communities is of no concern as long as their pursuit of profit is unhindered. The current private equity takeover frenzy just seems to highlight the need to change the laws to control the seemingly unstoppable growth of these companies as well as the count of individuals who lose their jobs as a consequence.