Daily Express

Save retention scheme or face huge manufactur­ing job cuts

- By Henry Saker-Clark

‘These redundancy plans make for very painful reading’

MANUFACTUR­ERS have called on the Government to extend the job retention scheme by six months as they warned of job losses “on a scale not seen since the 1980s”.

Trade group Make UK said ministers should extend furlough as research revealed that more than half of firms in the sector plan to cut posts by the end of the year.

It called for an extension of the scheme for strategic industrial sectors to protect skilled jobs as the pandemic casts a shadow over manufactur­ing.

The call came as the organisati­on’s latest survey revealed the number of companies planning to make redundanci­es in the next six months has risen to 53 per cent.

It said this represents a contin- ued sharp rise in firms’ intent to cut jobs over the past two months, rising from 25 per cent and 42 per cent in the two previous surveys.

“There is no disguising the fact these redundancy plans make for very painful reading,” said Stephen Phipson, chief executive of Make UK. “As well as the distressin­g personal impact on livelihood­s across the UK, the industry cannot afford to lose these high-value skills which will be essential to rebuilding our economy and investing in the industries of the future.”

Make UK particular­ly highlighte­d that measures should be put in place to protect the aerospace and automotive industries.

The sectors have seen thousands of jobs put at risk since the start of the coronaviru­s pandemic, with major firms such as Rolls-Royce, Meggitt and Jaguar Land Rover announcing substantia­l cuts.

Almost a third of companies (32.3 per cent) are planning to make between 11 per cent and 25 per cent of employees redundant, according to the monitor.

It also reported that the proportion of companies expecting a return to normal trading to take 12 months or longer has risen from just under a third in the previous survey to 42 per cent.

Mr Phipson added: “At present, the prospect of a V-shaped recovery for industry seems remote.

“Therefore, if we are to mitigate the worst impact of potential job losses, Government must extend the furlough scheme for key strategic sectors to provide them with vital breathing space.

“In addition, Government should consider measures similar to those introduced by competitor­s to boost demand in the aerospace and automotive industries in particular.”

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