Insiders at Alstom in Derby already feared the worst when job losses were announced in mainland Europe. The administrative cutbacks had been hinted at in the run-up to this week’s announcement. Nevertheless, there was shock at the scale of engineering job losses proposed at the Litchurch Lane Works. The address is famous throughout the railway community, and synonymous with manufacturing in the sector. However the factory site has a huge hole in its order book, and that has put more than 1,300 jobs in the firing line.