EEF warns that up to 90,000 jobs could go
01 December 2008
Up to 90,000 jobs could be lost in UK manufacturing next year, the EEF has warned.
Publishing its economic forecast for 2009, the manufacturers’ organisation says that Britain’s manufacturing industry is facing one of the toughest battles for two decades as trading conditions worsen. The sector is going through a “significant and sustained downturn”, and with the pace of job losses already having accelerated over the past three months unemployment is set to rise further, the report warns.
Steve Radley, EEF chief economist, said: “Manufacturers have made substantial progress in recent years in improving their performance but the next 12 months are set to be some of the most difficult in two decades. What marks this downturn out from others is the alarming rate at which conditions have deteriorated through the autumn because of the problems in the financial markets.”
So far, most job losses have been in the basic metals and motor vehicles sector, where investment has fallen to a seven-year low.
The EEF is calling for “immediate and positive” help from the government to avoid the predicted bleak outlook for next year, including further interest rate cuts and tax incentives.