Freescale morale in freefall after e-mail

Nov 19 2008 by Graham Mann, East Kilbride News

MORALE at Freescale is in complete meltdown after staff were dealt yet another blow.

Workers based at the company’s research and development section will find out this afternoon (Wednesday) if they will soon be joining their manufacturing colleagues on the dole queue.

And, adding to this week’s turmoil, staff were stunned when bosses sent out an internal e-mail asking them to help promote the company to potential business partners.

They were told an event entitled ‘Meet Freescale’ would take place on December 5 in the auditorium.

The e-mail states: “This is part of the Freescale UK vision to promote the work we do and the skills we have.”

It continues: “Our target is to host approximately 150 quality attendees from reputable organisations. If you have good contacts in the industry who it would be mutually beneficial to invite to Meet Freescale, please send their e-mail details to me ASAP and we can include them on our invitee list.”

Our source told the News the e-mail sent shockwaves through the demoralised workforce, some of whom have already been issued with their redundancy notices.

He said: “People are absolutely shocked by this. It’s a massive kick in the teeth and insensitive. Over the last week people have been issued with their redundancy notices and then this e-mail appears.

“The atmosphere in the plant has gone into complete meltdown and everyone is totally scunnered. Nobody is doing any work. They’ve still got the dispute over reduced redundancy payments hanging over their heads and now a consultation period is about to begin into the R&D jobs. Freescale’s reputation could not get any lower.”

East Kilbride MSP Andy Kerr said: “The e-mail relating to the December 5 event has been correctly viewed by many members of the workforce as insensitive and it presents an image of the company which the workforce do not currently share.

“However, if it’s about securing jobs in East Kilbride then, of course, we must support any initiative designed to do just that. While we are all hurting about the loss of jobs at the plant we have also got to actively encourage the company to keep its focus on securing the remaining jobs.

“It’s a further hammer blow to hear that a consultation period is due to begin, although no detail is available at the moment. However, there is no doubt this presents another real challenge for the long-term future of the East Kilbride facility.”

When the American-owned company announced the closure of the manufacturing plant last month, it was thought the 200 R&D jobs in East Kilbride would not be affected.

But plans to cut the global workforce by 10 per cent were announced earlier this month, leaving the future of the jobs and the plant itself on a knife edge.

A spokeswoman for Freescale said: "The ‘Meet Freescale’ event is aimed at universities, businesses and industry bodies who have an interest in the research and development work that is being carried out in East Kilbride.

“Across the company, it is common practice for Freescale to hold similar events to demonstrate the company's engineering expertise and latest technological advances. Planning for this event has been underway for some time and is being led by a team of employees on site."

Meanwhile, Freescale managers have been accused of pressurising employees who stopped working to observe the two minutes’ silence on Armistice Day.