Raytheon to pull out of Londonderry

Seven employees based at the firm's Springtown facility will be affected by the decision to pull-out.

Raytheon Business Development spokesman Robin Hughes told the Sentinel it was not renewing its lease at the Northern Ireland Systems and Software Centre (NISSC) and that it would be pulling out on February 15.

He stated: "As communicated last year RSL has given notice on the current lease for the facility at NISSC and are expected to vacate the facility on the 15th February 2010.

"As part of the planning process for 2010 we carefully considered the overall workload for the NISSC site and have come to the decision to consolidate a number of the roles with RSL's other main sites.

"The seven employees impacted by this action will be provided assistance on an individual basis by the company through the transition process."

Freedom of Information documents obtained last year by the Sentinel showed the company had been losing money at its Londonderry plant and that senior figures believed it could only survive by taking on defence work.

But this was unlikely to succeed.

Since Raytheon's arrival in Londonderry in 1999 the company had been the subject of a series of protests over its involvement in the manufacture of software for use in military operations.

Anti-war protestors have targeted the facility on numerous occasions, including in August 2006 when nine men occupied the company's Springtown office.

The men - who threw computer hard disks and company literature from the premises - said they were protecting innocent people from being killed by the Israeli military in Lebanon. They were later acquitted of criminal damage.

Amid a series of revelations, last January Derry City Council asked the City Solicitor to write to Raytheon reiterating its strong opposition to any manufacture of military equipment in the city "and putting this in the context of existing Council policies opposing rendition flights, the conflict in Palestine and the arms trade generally."

The documents obtained by this newspaper through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request last year also demonstrated disquiet amongst the firm's senior management at the decision to acquit the anti-war protestors.

An Invest NI document, copied to the Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster, noted: "Raytheon's US senior management continue to be dismayed and disappointed by this outcome.

"Unfortunately, it would appear that the view of senior US management is that the legal system in Northern Ireland does not offer the degree of protection to their business that could be expected in other parts of the world."

The Invest NI documents said that the company decided last February to let the owners know that it would not be renewing the lease at its current premises in Londonderry, when it expires in February 2010.

They also said that Invest NI was helping Raytheon to find alternative locations within Northern Ireland "that can serve (as) a base for future growth."