Avaya workers are facing financial hardship after being led to believe that their future with the US telecom company was secure.

The firm bought over the stricken Enterprise Division of Nortel days before Christmas but has revealed it is pulling the plug on its Northern Ireland operation.

It means that 140 workers at the Monkstown site who had told their jobs were secure are now facing joining the province’s ever growing dole queue.

“Our workers have been led up the garden path — they’ve been given false hope that they had jobs and their jobs were secured,” said Unite’s regional organiser Sean Smyth.

“They spent money over Christmas time and the credit cards dropped on the doormat last week. Arlene Foster has serious questions to answer.”

The former Nortel employees were told by the company’s new managers as little as two weeks ago that the future of the site was bright, the union claimed yesterday. However, Avaya has said the plant could be closed by June. Mr Smyth said: “Unless our politicians get the finger out, whatever hope there is at this site will be lost. The owners will pack their bags, turn the light off and head home.”

When it was announced on December 21 that Avaya had snapped up Nortel’s Enterprise Division, the union had cautiously welcomed the move but voiced redundancy concerns. “From when the company started, they stated there will be redundancies — they didn’t know where, they didn’t know how many,” Mr Smyth said.

But Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster hailed the deal as extremely positive news for Nortel workers.

In a statement yesterday Avaya said: “Avaya has entered a consultation process following the strategic business decision to potentially close the Monkstown office.”

Northern Ireland Manufacturing chief executive Bryan Gray said: “This situation is only being exacerbated by the inability of Executive to focus on the economy as political parties here fail to agree on a way forward for devolution.”