The row over GB Energy Aberdeen jobs has sharpened, with the SNP accusing the UK Government of breaking its promises after a minister said the publicly-owned company was ‘never meant’ to employ 1,000 people at its Aberdeen headquarters.
GB Energy is the UK Government’s publicly-owned clean energy company, set up to invest in and accelerate the country’s energy transition. It has been the subject of repeated scrutiny over what, exactly, it promised to deliver for Aberdeen and Scotland’s north-east.
What the minister actually said about GB Energy Aberdeen jobs
Martin McCluskey, minister of energy and jobs, told Times Radio that the Government was aiming ‘towards about 300 direct employees’ at the Aberdeen headquarters. He then added: ‘But it was never meant to be direct employees.’ The remark drew an immediate response from the SNP, who called it ‘shameful.’
The controversy stems from comments made by GB Energy chairman Jürgen Maier after the 2024 election, when he told MPs the company could create more than 1,000 jobs at its headquarters in the north-east, though he acknowledged that target could take decades to reach. He subsequently scaled that back, saying the company would create only ‘200 or 300 jobs in Aberdeen by 2031.’
GB Energy’s chief executive has since offered further clarification. According to BBC News, the plan is to recruit about 300 people at the Aberdeen headquarters by 2030, bringing the direct employment figure broadly in line with what McCluskey stated on Times Radio, but well short of the four-figure number originally cited by Maier.
The wider jobs picture and Aberdeen’s future
GB Energy has sought to draw a distinction between direct headquarters employment and the broader economic impact of its investment decisions. BBC News reported that the company had already made three major investments which would indirectly trigger about 1,500 jobs, and that it holds a target of helping to create 10,000 jobs across the sector by 2030. Those figures, however, cover roles far beyond Aberdeen itself.
On the question of a permanent Aberdeen base, Yahoo Finance reported that GB Energy plans to move into offices at Marischal Square by the end of the year. The company has also launched what it calls the Aberdeen Energy Taskforce, described by Yahoo Finance as a new leadership group designed to ensure that the energy transition delivers for the north-east of Scotland.
Those moves have not been enough to satisfy the SNP. Jack Middleton, SNP MSP for Aberdeen Central, said the party had broken not just the 1,000-jobs promise but a broader commitment: ‘They actually committed to 70,000 jobs, meanwhile energy bills are set to be £1,000 higher than they pledged too.’ He went further, arguing that the problems extended well beyond the jobs numbers. ‘No wonder Martin McCluskey is telling fibs,’ Middleton said. ‘His Government shut down Grangemouth and is ruining Scotland’s premier offshore industry.’
Middleton also used the row to make a broader constitutional argument, saying energy-rich Scotland should pursue independence in order to keep control of its own energy resources.
Why the numbers matter
The confusion over the jobs figures illustrates a tension at the heart of how GB Energy has described its impact. A company can point to thousands of indirect jobs triggered by investment decisions while its own payroll remains a fraction of that. For communities in Aberdeen, however, the distinction between a direct employer and an investment vehicle is a practical one: it affects local wages, suppliers, and the economic weight the company actually carries in the city.
With GB Energy’s planned move into Marischal Square expected before the end of the year, the Aberdeen headquarters will at least have a permanent address. Whether the direct headcount grows beyond the 300 figure now cited by both the minister and the chief executive is a question the company will face repeatedly as that deadline approaches.
