Philips - Jobs
The Cambridge Evening News enthusiastically
welcomed the news that Philips were hoping to move their office and production
for pagers from St. Andrews Road to Hinchingbrook Business Park
(19-Mar-1996).
It said they would move 300 employees (i.e. jobs) and create 150 new ones.
That's great for the Huntingdon area but what about the Cambridge
factory workers who can't move?
Even the Opinion column enthused about this, saying:
Cambridge will not be harmed.
With its universities and science and innovation centres, it is established
as the heart of enterprise in the region.
Moving production and research will help ease pressures on commuters
and housing while boosting the market for homes and offices in
less crowded districts.
Very comforting for the workers who'd (reluctantly) be made redundant
when they say they can't relocate or travel.
What about the workers, formerly travelling a short distance, who'd now
have to commute by car up the busy A14 for their shifts?
A friend of mine worked in this division, assembling mobile phones.
He cycled (or walked) there: he needed the job and would probably have
difficulty finding another -
there aren't many manufacturing jobs here.
He wondered how he was going to get to and from Huntingdon for each shift.
Postscript
As of 1998 it seemed the plan to move to Hinchingbrook was rejected in favour of
moving much of the production to other parts of the world, with many redundancies.
In 1999 there were more redundancies.
Cambridge
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