More manufacturers axe jobs

An increasing number of UK manufacturingcompaniesare planning to cut jobs by the end of the year, according to a new report.

A survey released today of almost 300 firms found that more than two in five expected redundancies, up from one in four in a previous study in May.

Manufacturing organisation Make UK urged the Chancellor to put job creation and skills at the forefront of his economic statement next week.

Almost one in ten companies surveyed warned that it planned to make between a quarter and half of its employees redundant. Make UK said its findings suggested that in some sectors companies have judged that demand is unlikely to recover for some time, if at all, and are now moving from furlough to implementing restructuring plans.

Its report called for immediate measures to ease the cost base for companies and safeguard as many jobs and skills as possible, such as offering business rates relief.

Make UK also reiterated its call for a national skills taskforce to support workers in the sector who are made redundant.

Chief executive Stephen Phipson said conditions were still very tough for many firms, with disruption likely to continue for some time. “This has led some to reluctantly conclude that with demand unlikely to return for some time, if at all, they are moving to the painful choice of redundancy,” he said.

“In the short term it’s essential that the Chancellor uses the full armoury of economic weapons at his disposal to safeguard as many jobs and livelihoods as possible.

“The economy will emerge from this pandemic and, as it has shown during the crisis, industry will be the sector to which the nation will turn to re-purpose and rebuild toward a greener and sustainable future. Science, engineering and digital tech have been catapulted centre stage.”