Hay's HML concerns

Speaking to the Sentinel Mr Hay said he has been contacted by workers at the centre who are extremely concerned over their future at the centre.

"I have been contacted by some workers and there is a serious degree of worry amongst some of them. I will certainly be speaking to these workers on the issue," he said.

Fears are growing amongst the 400 strong workforce after they were informed last week that management had entered into a 90 day consultation period with unions ahead of job losses across the company's five UK bases.

The family owned company hails from Yorkshire and specialises in the provision of financial support services.

A spokeswoman for HML last week said: "We are a successful company but we need to act now to resize the business. Every role in the company is being reviewed to ensure we can continue to compete.

Workers at HML, based at Londonderry's Buncrana Road have been told that a minimum of 100 jobs are under threat across their UK centres. In total HML employs around 2,000 people and manages approximately 50 billion in assets for over 30 UK and Irish finance companies.

Willam Hay said: "I spoke to one worker who has just moved into a new home with a young family and has a mortgage to pay. These concerns follow on the heels of the situation with Arntz and the other sectors where there have been job losses. And, certainly the potential loss of another 100 jobs would represent a serious blow for the very small economy we have here."

The DUP man also said he would encourage a meeting of all the City's MLA's and MP to meet with senior representaives of HML to discuss the potential job losses. Mr Hay also said he will be contacting the Department of Education and Learning to see what can be done from the Assembly's end.