Alliance Leader Naomi Long MLA has said everything possible must be done to ensure a suitable buyer is found, after Bombardier announced it was selling its Belfast operation.

The aerospace firm employs around 3,600 people across Northern Ireland. It said it was part of a reorganisation of the business.

“Obviously this is an extremely unsettling development for workers in Bombardier, who now face a period of uncertainty, and my thoughts are with them,” said Mrs Long.

“However, the company has diversified in recent years and has attracted a significant amount of non-Bombardier work.

“The focus now has to be on finding a buyer committed to maintaining and developing manufacturing on the Belfast site to secure not just Bombardier jobs but those reliant on being part of the company’s supply chain across Northern Ireland.

“My colleague Chris Lyttle MLA and I are seeking an urgent meeting with management in Belfast to discuss the economic implications of these developments. As Northern Ireland’s largest private sector employer and manufacturing company, we must do everything possible to ensure that a suitable buyer is found.”