MP seeking assurances over company’s commitment to Ballyclare

The company has announced up to 60 jobs could go in a restructuring exercise.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the firm said: “The consolidation has been proposed in an effort to increase efficiencies between Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles (CRC) who form the group. Should the proposed plans go ahead, it is anticipated that 62 jobs could be at risk of redundancy at the Whitepark site, Ballyclare, pending a final decision later this year.” Read here

Mr Girvan: said: “Chain Reaction has been a massive success story for not just Ballyclare but the whole of Northern Ireland.

“Of course, such success attracted the interest of some of their competitors and the company merged with Wiggle in 2016.

“As I understand this is not a repeat of what we have seen sadly with many other companies which have lost major revenue during the lockdown months. Anyone seeking to buy a bicycle in the past few months will be only too aware of the sheer demand for new wheels. That industry has bucked the trend.

This is why the decision of WiggleCRC has come as such a shock.

“The operations in Ballyclare continue to be an excellent revenue generator for the business. I think of all those many workers who are feeling deeply uncertain about their future right now. Some have worked for the company for decades.

“The workforce at the Ballyclare WiggleCRC site is an excellent, high production yield group that does not deserve to have their jobs cast into uncertainty. My door is always open to anyone in South Antrim that is facing redundancy for advice and assistance.”

The DUP representative added he has arranged to meet with WiggleCRC online “to seek assurances over the future of its operations in Northern Ireland”.

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