Scottish Government pledges support after Boat of Garten sawmill jobs blow
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The Scottish Government has said it will do everything in its power to assist workers at a sawmill by Boat of Garten who are set to be made redundant at the end of next month.
Forty jobs are set to go at the former BSW site at Drumullie.
Fergus Ewing, (SNP) MSP for Inverness and Nairn, has urged Mairi McAllan, minister for environment and land reform, to explore opportunities with owners Binderholz to preserve local employment.
Ms McAllan has now told the Strathy: “The announcement from the BSW Group is of course a blow to their excellent skilled staff.
"I would like the staff at Boat of Garten to know that the Scottish Government and its agencies will do everything it can to assist during this difficult time.
“I know that Highlands and Islands Enterprise is working hard to help and try to mitigate the need for any job losses. To this end, the company is being encouraged to explore all available options for redeploying affected staff.
“The Scottish Government will do everything in its power to help those affected through Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) - an initiative for responding to redundancy situations.
"By providing skills development and employability support, PACE aims to minimise the time spent out of work following redundancy.
“I will be meeting with local MSP Fergus Ewing and BSW to discuss what further assistance can be given. I know that Scottish Forestry has already been in touch with the company.
"Whilst this news is a blow for the area, we do need to recognise the important role of sustainably-grown timber in low carbon manufacturing and construction and the general outlook for domestic timber processing is encouraging.
"This is reflected in recent and continuing investment in timber processing throughout Scotland.”
Mr Ewing has asked for a meeting with the Minister at the site along with the workforce.
He said: “I must say that this decision has caused much serious concern locally, particularly since the current owners purchased the business only last October.
“It is disappointing that there has been no attempt of serious investment at the site, and one wonders what precisely are the plans of the company for the rest of their operations, especially as they cite a severe market downturn as the basis or main basis for their decision.”
Binderholz has blamed the decision on a global downturn in the timber industry caused by the Covid pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, increasing energy costs and a 40-year high in cost-of-living expenses.
