10,000 manufacturing jobs lost each week

Manufacturing News, Source : TheManufacturer.com
Published : 14 Nov 2002 10:07

New jobless figures out yesterday showed that manufacturing was again the worst hit sector with 159,000 jobs lost in the three months to September.

Manufacturing jobs fell by 4.2 per cent in the quarter with the biggest cuts being in electrical and optical equipment (54,000), metal products (24,000), and textiles, leather and clothing (20,000). Bill Morris, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union, said that 10,000 manufacturing jobs a week were being lost and called for urgent government action to be spearheaded by the Department of Trade and Industry.

Speaking at the T&G’s manufacturing conference in Eastbourne, he said: “With manufacturing haemorrhaging to death we cannot go on like this. At this rate all we will be left with is to take in each other’s washing using our imported washing machines!”

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