US giant Caterpillar creating shedding 35 jobs at its Larne plant

CATERPILLAR has announced that 35 jobs are to go in its Northern Ireland division.

But Unit the union says it believes that more jobs are go.

The US engineering firm employs about 2,000 people across at plants in Larne, Monsktown and west Belfast.

Caterpillar staff were told this morning about the restructuring of its electric power division.

The company said the job losses are across staff and agency positions.

In a statement, the firm said the move was to “better align its organisational structure, resulting in a more efficient and competitive business model”.

Jobs are also being lost at Caterpillar plants in the US.

Davy Thompson, regional co-ordinating officer for the Unite union, said it was “yet another blow to our manufacturing sector”.

He said he believed that more jobs will go at Caterpillar NI and called on the Stormont Executive to publish its plans to revive engineering in the province.