Nuclear company going into administration is 'a bitter blow for local employment' says Caithness business boss
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THE news that a company involved in the decommissioning of Dounreay has gone into administration is "a bitter blow for local employment."
So said the chief executive of the Caithness Chamber of Commerce, Trudy Morris, who described the announcement about James Fisher Nuclear (JFN) as "incredibly disappointing and concerning". The company, which has a base at Bower, was part of Nuclear Decommissioning Ltd – a joint venture which was set up to decommission the Caithness site and others throughout the UK.
Ms Morris said: "Businesses are fighting for survival amid significant and ongoing economic uncertainty. The damaging impact of the (Covid) pandemic, coupled with the cost-of-living crisis, spiralling interest rates, material, labour and energy costs, alongside the increased cost of debt, are pushing many companies to the brink of collapse.
"This is also a bitter blow for local employment with staff now faced with redundancy and also the potential fallout from the knock-on impact to sub-contractors and the local supply chain."
Maree Todd, the SNP MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, said: "It’s disappointing to learn that James Fisher Nuclear has entered administration, leading to the loss of high-skilled jobs at its base in Bower.
"While I recognise the substantial efforts made to avoid closure, this news is deeply disappointing for JFN employees, who are now going through the redundancy process, and their families who face financial uncertainty during a cost-of-living crisis."
She added: "I hope that JFN’s employees in Bower will receive all the necessary support as the winding-down process takes place."
Ron Gunn, a Thurso and Northwest Highland councillor and chairman of the Caithness Committee, said the news is "a blow to the local community."
He said: "It came as a bit of a shock. I thought the business was doing okay and was quite busy. It will be a shame if around 300 jobs are going, including those in Caithness. It would be good if the business could be successfully taken over but we just don't know if that will happen."
Jamie Stone, the MP for Caithness, Sutherland and easter Ross, said: "This is very bad news. Every job counts in the far north but worse still, this seems to indicate yet again a failure by both the UK and Scottish government to understand that we have a workforce that is highly skilled when it comes to the nuclear industry. I believe that these governments have a moral obligation to understand this and continue to utilise those skills in the future. Nuclear is an increasingly important part of the UK's energy solution, particularly in view of global warming."
The Liberal Democrat MP added: "It is imperative that the highest standard of safety and professionalism is upheld in the decommissioning process. To ensure this, I shall write to the National Decommissioning Authority. I will also write to ministers in both governments to ask them what can be done to safeguard such jobs in the future."
James Fisher Nuclear was acquired by Myneration, a wholly-owned investment vehicle of Rcapital Partners, from Cumbria-based James Fisher and Sons in March. It is understood that around 300 people are employed by JFN in total, including staff at Bower.
Administrators at FTI Consulting described the news as "a tremendously sad day for everyone who has been involved in the business" and said in a statement: "JFN Limited has been a market-leading technical services business to the UK nuclear decommissioning sector for over 30 years. However, it has incurred losses in recent years associated with a number of uneconomical long-term contracts which have resulted in a significant funding requirement for the business."
"Over the past few months, the directors and key stakeholders have worked tirelessly to try and safeguard the future of the business. Regrettably, the company has insufficient cash resources to continue to trade beyond the short term and the directors have concluded that there is no longer any reasonable prospect of a sale. Therefore, the directors have had no choice but appoint administrators."
The statement added: "The administration team will focus on working with employees, customers, sub-contractors and suppliers to effect a wind-down of the majority of operations over the next few weeks, while continuing to explore interest in parts of the business. We are hopeful of being able to conclude a transaction for the instrumentation division within the coming days."
The administrators are also working with staff to help with their claims of redundancy and other compensatory payments.
JFN was a supplier of specialist engineering, manufacturing and technical services to the UK's nuclear decommissioning industry.
Nuclear Decommissioning Ltd included JFN, along with three other companies – REACT Engineering, Shepley Engineering Ltd and Tetra-Tech – and was formed at the start of 2019.
