Last night, Henry Smith MP hosted a parliamentary Westminster Hall reception for Siemens attended by senior company executives, Downing Street aides and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills.
Henry commented:
“Last night I was delighted to be able to host a reception on Siemens’s behalf despite Labour attempts to block the event. Over 600 new jobs will be created for Crawley which clearly represents a vote of confidence in the town and is an endorsement of the local economy.
“Siemens started in the UK 170 years ago - two years before in Germany - and today account for around 55,000 jobs nationally and 3 per cent of British economic output. Crawley is Siemens’ hearing instruments and audiology centre and the company will soon be providing the maintenance and training facility for the new Thameslink contract in Three Bridges which introduces cleaner, more efficient trains with greater passenger capacity.”
2,000 jobs are to be created as part of a contract to build 1,200 new carriages for the Thameslink route as part of a £6 billion upgrade of the key connection. As a result of this deal, depots for the new trains will be built at Three Bridges by Siemens.