{"id":15875,"date":"2024-08-28T10:49:21","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T09:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsmediauk.org\/?post_type=case-studies&p=15875"},"modified":"2024-09-19T12:11:40","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T11:11:40","slug":"keep-hitachi-on-track","status":"publish","type":"case-studies","link":"https:\/\/newsmediauk.org\/blog\/case-studies\/keep-hitachi-on-track\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep Hitachi on Track"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Northern Echo launched their campaign ‘Keep Hitachi on Track’ to urge the government to step in and help train builder Hitachi by extending a vital contract to secure the future of its Newton Aycliffe plant. Business leaders, unions and politicians backed the call, as hundreds of jobs were at risk with the company\u2019s order books running dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Echo had campaigned ten years ago to bring the factory to the region and was now urging the government to keep it on track – or do everything in its power to find other orders to plug the gap. Real concerns had been growing since Hitachi bosses revealed that it had failed to reach an agreement with the government to keep their order books full. The factory keeps 750 people in work on-site, alongside another 1,400 jobs indirectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Last year, Rishi Sunak hailed Hitachi\u2019s Newton Aycliffe factory<\/a> as a \u2018fantastic example of world-class manufacturing\u2019 in the North East. Twelve months on, the firm was on the brink and fighting for support to stop them from reaching the end of the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bosses at Hitachi said they had been in talks for two years in an attempt to find a solution, but this had \u201dnot resulted in a positive resolution\u201d. The factory, which opened in 2015, was making its final trains for Avanti West Coast and East Midlands Railway. Ministers had told Hitachi they had no plans to order more trains to run on the West Coast mainline, which the firm saw as the only viable way to plug the production gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign was backed by Sir Keir Starmer<\/a> and Rachel Reeves during the 2024 general election campaign. As a result of The Northern Echo\u2019s work, it became a key part of Labour\u2019s election manifesto, with the party visiting the Newton Aycliffe factory on a number of occasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Senior former politicians including Tony Blair and George Osborne also backed the campaign. The new North East mayor Kim McGuinness also made saving Hitachi her number one priority in her first term in office following the Echo’s work. Politicians of all colours and business leaders across the North East backed the campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor MP Alan Strickland said he is “determined to keep fighting to secure the future of the factory”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I am really proud that we’ve had the world-class Hitachi Rail plant in Aycliffe now for 9 years,” he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is testament to the excellent campaign led by the Northern Echo and former Labour MP Phil Wilson at the time.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to The Northern Echo\u2019s work<\/a>, numerous rescue meetings have now been facilitated, with talks ongoing in London between the government, bosses and officials to try and secure the factory\u2019s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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