The decision to hand the Thameslink project to Siemens is a great mistake and one which will do serious damage to British industry. As a Specialist Recruitment Consultant for Quality Engineers, my core markets are Aerospace, Defence and the Automotive sector (including rail) and I have already begun to receive the influx of CVs, emails and phone calls from those seeking contracts in Germany.
Ironically, this is potentially very lucrative for me, since Tier One suppliers into Siemens may pay very good money to secure the services of the most senior Bombardier staff on a consultative basis. Forgive the vagueness, but for corporate security reasons, I am unable to reveal the precise nature of my organisation’s profitability from the government’s decision. Sufficed to say that we, and indeed I, expect to benefit financially. It would be hypocritical to attack the government over this without making that clear. Indeed a number of British Engineers will also do very well from the Siemens contract, but these will mostly be the higher-end, well paid operatives, not the factory floor workers. Everyday Millers, Turners, Setters and Inspectors will all lose out and potentially fall into unemployment.
The UK economy will not benefit at all. Those who secure contracts at Siemens’ sites in Germany will work overseas and pay German tax. As an added blow, the decision not to award the contract to Bombardier may essentially mean the end of its significant presence on the UK Engineering stage. Bombardier is the final remaining UK train producer and this decision may effectively kill it off as a viable enterprise in this country. The catastrophic impact of this move will be felt for years and is so illogical from an economic standpoint that one has to seriously question the government’s motives.
