‘NO stone will be left unturned’ by the Scottish Government in the bid to save jobs at Texas Instruments in Greenock, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has pledged.

Scotland’s Business Minister Fergus Ewing has been in touch with the company about its shock decision to phase out the plant over three years, putting 365 people out of work as their jobs are transferred to Germany, Japan and America. 

It is hoped the first meeting of an emergency task force set up by Inverclyde Council will be held on Monday.

The jobs crisis was raised yesterday at the Scottish Parliament by Greenock and Inverclyde MSP Duncan McNeil, who highlighted the damage that closure would do to Inverclyde’s already fragile economy.

He said: “This would be an undeserved fate for the highly skilled and committed workforce.”

Mr McNeil said a ‘glimmer of hope’ exists because there is still time to attract new owners to the plant.

He asked Ms Sturgeon: “Will the First Minister take this opportunity to commit the Scottish Government and its agencies to play a full role in the task force in order that they can attract a new owner to secure those jobs and, indeed, address the underlying fragility of the Inverclyde economy?”

Ms Sturgeon said she guaranteed ‘full commitment’ to trying to save the jobs.

She added: “Scottish Enterprise are fully engaged. They will work with the company to explore all possible options in supporting the business and retaining jobs, and the Scottish Government will be fully engaged in that work as well.

“The Scottish Government will support the task force in any way we can. We will do everything we can to preserve the jobs. No stone will be left unturned by this government or our agencies.”

Meanwhile, some TI employees have reacted angrily to the way the shock closure of their plant was announced by the company.

They took to the Tele Facebook page to complain that the announcement was issued before the firm told them.

One said: “I’ve worked here for 30 years, and to find out via social media that I’m losing my job is unbelievably poor from TI.”

Another wrote: “I’ve still not been officially told. Will probably tell us when we’re back on Sunday.”

A post from a relative of someone else said that some staff mistakenly believed that the sudden visit from US bosses who had jetted into Scotland was bringing good news.

She said: “They thought the chief executive was coming to announce an expansion.”

Members of the public were also quick to criticise management over the way the announcement was handled, as they expressed sympathy for the people losing their jobs.

One reader posted: “Shocking that staff read about this in the Tele. They should have been notified before.”

The Greenock facility started production in 1970 and at one time employed more than 2,000.

It designs and manufactures advanced analogue semiconductor chips for use in computers, mobile phones and other devices. Texas Instruments bought the plant from National Semiconductor as part of a worldwide £4 billion deal in 2011, promising to ‘grow the company’.

Inverclyde Council SNP group leader, Councillor Chris McEleny, today said the hardworking staff need everyone to come together now or they face unemployment.

He said: “I welcome the council leader’s formation of a task force. Bosses at Texas Instruments acknowledge that the Inverclyde workforce are second to none around the world.

“If we can’t convince them that they’ve made the wrong decision, then we need to explore the possibility of seeking other interested parties.

“There is a hard-working, willing and ready workforce, I am hopeful we can market this to the private sector to secure the skilled jobs for years to come.”

He added: “Texas Instruments, ironically, are a key sponsor of this years Bee’s Knees Inverclyde business excellence awards. Hopefully they will reconsider the benefit Inverclyde brings to their business.”

Business minister Fergus Ewing said he was ‘disappointed’ at the decision taken by TI management. He said: “The Scottish Government has been in touch with Texas Instruments, and we will continue to work closely with the company to do all we can to secure a long-term future for the 365 jobs and manufacturing at the site. 

“In addition, Scottish Enterprise is seeking an urgent meeting with local management.”

He added: “Should any redundancies proceed, the Scottish Government’s PACE initiative stands ready to support any affected employees. 

“Through providing skills development and employability support, PACE aims to minimise the time that individuals affected by redundancy are out of work.”

Texas say no jobs will go until the end of 2017, and in the meantime they will try to sell the plant as an ‘ongoing manufacturing operation’.