Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson is to meet with Caterpillar's Operations Director to discuss the recent job losses at the manufacturing firm.

The company announced it is to axe over 200 jobs and close its site in Monkstown, Newtownabbey, over the next 12 months.

Representatives of the Larne, Monkstown and west Belfast facilities recently attended a meeting with representatives from Unite the union and Mr Dickson to express concerns that the Executive Office and Department for the Economy had "lost sight" of the future of manufacturing in Northern Ireland.

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Mr Dickson said: "The job cuts at Caterpillar are profoundly disappointing. Not only for the employees but also because of the problems it highlights in the Executive.

"The job losses show the Executive has not been sufficiently focused on manufacturing in Northern Ireland and needs to better support the industry. It also needs to work towards attracting more high quality manufacturing and jobs to Northern Ireland.

"In coming days, I am scheduled to speak to Caterpillar's Operations Director and will raise a number of the key issues surrounding the job losses with him in order to establish what measures are being taken to help those affected workers and prevent any further redundancies."

(CD/LM)