BT plan to close office 'came out of the blue'

BT's plans to close its office in Londonderry with the potential loss of around 140 jobs came "totally out of the blue", a trade union has said.

The company told staff on Wednesday that it plans to close its building at Queens quay and move 95 of the jobs to India.

Some employees could be offered positions in Belfast.

Tracey Fussey, from the Communication Workers Union (CWU), said the company's staff in Derry now face "a very bleak future".

"The fact they have looked at Derry, pulled the work out of Derry, has come as an absolute blow to them," Ms Fussey told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

The union is due to meet members who work at the site on Thursday.

"We believe companies like BT, their focus should be on creating good employment within the UK and the decision here to move that work to India is completely unpalatable," she said.

"We know it is to our members as well.

"Their loyalty, their long service in this instance, their feeling is it means absolutely nothing."

The Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald described the job losses as "deeply disappointing".

The Sinn Féin minister said the news was especially concerning, coming so soon after the loss of 300 jobs at BT in Enniskillen.

In January, BBC News NI reported up to 90 jobs could be at risk at BT's Belfast headquarters due to changes at the telecoms company.

"Our members would probably have thought that in terms of BT's operation in Northern Ireland that would have been it," Ms Fussey said.

BT said its proposals to close the Derry office were part of a programme of "consolidating into a smaller number of buildings".

It said the building was "not suitable for the long-term".

The company said some staff whose roles are not being transferred to India could possibly relocate to Belfast.

Ms Fussey said for many that was not a "real option".

"It's not something we believe our members could sustain over a long period of time," she said.

The union will now enter a period of consultation with BT, she added.

The SDLP MP for Foyle, Colum Eastwood, said the prospect of job losses was "devastating news for BT workers, their families and the broader local economy in Derry".

Eastwood said he had written to Stormont's economy minister "seeking her direct intervention with senior leadership at BT".

He said the Stormont Executive, through economic development agency Invest NI, had helped BT expand operations in Belfast over the last decade, while jobs were lost or at the risk of being lost elsewhere.

That, he said, was "a serious cause for concern".

Sinn Féin assembly member Pádraig Delargy said the potential job losses are "hugely concerning" for the local community, while Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) assembly member Gary Middleton said he was deeply disappointed by the announcement.