Minister tells Raytheon of her 'great disappointment' at closure

ENTERPRISE Minister Arlene Foster wrote to Raytheon chief Brian McKeon in January expressing "great disappointment" at the decision of the firm to vacate its Londonderry premises.

In a letter to the Raytheon Systems Limited boss dated January 18, 2010, she affirmed the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETINI)’s support for the firm.

She argued a series of high profile anti-war protests in Londonderry did not have the support of the majority of “our community.”

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The Minister wrote that the Raytheon brand has enhanced Northern Ireland’s “proposition as a credible foreign direct investment location to international investors around the world” and that DETINI “very much value the excellent long term relationship” with the defence firm.

She pledged DETINI and Invest NI would be flexible as possible in trying to ensure Raytheon remained in Northern Ireland.

The letter concludes: “I know that executives from Invest NI have been working closely with local management over the past year to identify a range of alternative premises for the company within Northern Ireland and to ensure the best outturn for staff in these challenging times.

“If you believe that I can assist in any way in ensuring the company’s continuing presence in Northern Ireland please do not hesitate to contact me.”

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It has also emerged that after the firm decided not to renew its lease at its Springtown base - plagued over the years by a spate of anti-war protests - in February 2009, Raytheon asked Invest NI if it could help find suitable accommodation elsewhere.

Invest NI briefing documents obtained by the Sentinel state Raytheon “subsequently approached Invest NI requesting that the Agency assist in their search for alternative premises in both the North West region and within a suitable travel to work distance within Northern Ireland. Invest NI’s Property Solutions team assisted in this request.”

In light of Raytheon’s statement to the Sentinel in January that it had come to the decision “to consolidate a number of the roles with RSL's other main sites” and that it was pulling out of Londonderry the paper asked Invest NI about the property hunt and if a vacant building rented by the state body in Campsie had been offered the firm.

A spokesperson for Invest NI stated: “Raytheon asked Invest NI to carry out a property search to investigate potential alternative accommodation.

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“As the release of this information could prejudice the commercial interests of the company we are unable to release any further detail relating to the search. However the Campsie offices would have been included if they met the company’s search criteria.”

The Sentinel also asked Raytheon Systems Limited what has become of the seven former employees at the Londonderry plant following the pull-out in February. It also asked if the decision not to renew its lease had been influenced by the anti-war protests. The firm did not respond.

But Invest NI documents show senior US management were concerned. A briefing document states: “Following the violent protests referred above, Senior US management at Raytheon have become increasingly concerned for the safety of staff at the NISC Centre.

“This hostility, combined with a perceived lack of support from Derry City will undoubtedly be a contributory factor in any decision by the company to downsize NISC.”

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Equally, the Raytheon parent company’s annual report of 2009 states generally: “Our business could be negatively impacted by security threats and other disruptions.

“As a U.S. defense contractor, we face certain security threats, including threats to our information technology infrastructure, attempts to gain access to our proprietary or classified information, and threats to physical security.

“These types of events could disrupt our operations, require significant management attention and resources, and could negatively impact our reputation among our customers and the public, which could have a negative impact on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.”