Reports indicate that Ericsson is winding down its R&D
facility at Ansty Park in Coventry and will close with the
potential loss of 700 jobs by the middle of next year.
According to Unite national officer, Peter Skyte: “This has come as
a bolt out of the blue for the workforce and their families who
were looking forward to a promising future in this newly opened
site"
The company said that the announcement was part of its "ongoing
global cost reduction activities and is subject to consultations
with trade unions and employee forums."
The site was created following Ericsson's acquisition in 2007 of
the former Marconi R&D activities at New Century Park
Coventry.
It acquired two research activities from Marconi, advanced telecoms
research and optical research.
The site at Ansty was a Greenfield site and came into full
operation earlier this year.
In January, the company started a SK 10bn (£880m) cost reduction
programme split equally between cost of sales and operating
expenses.
"The transition to IP technologies with fewer software platforms
as well as products with less hardware paves the way for synergies
within the product portfolio. The programme is ahead of plan and
additional opportunities for efficiency improvements have evolved
during the programme," said Ericsson at the time of its Q3
results.