Bleak day as more job cuts bite

May 22 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal

A FRESH wave of job losses hit banking, defence and other sectors – with warnings of further cuts bringing more misery to workers and sparking anger from unions.

Defence firm QinetiQ said it will axe 400 jobs despite a 22% increase in profits, while a further 210 posts will go at Lloyds Bank.

Around 2,100 jobs were at risk after the Birthdays greetings card business was placed into administration, while the Daily Mail and General Trust announced plans for a further 500 job cuts across its global business.

The Prospect union said workers at QinetiQ will be “outraged” at the job cuts, especially as it followed a pay freeze among the firm’s 7,000 UK staff.

The union, which is balloting for industrial action over pay, said QinetiQ continued to be a highly profitable company, both internationally and in the UK, with a backlog of secured work worth £5.4bn.

National officer David Luxton said: “Our members are outraged that their hard work and intellectual excellence, which has contributed to QinetiQ’s ability to achieve a 22% increase in profits, has been rewarded first with a pay freeze and now job cuts.”

A QinetiQ spokesman said: “Overall the UK business has not grown at all in the last year and we have seen a 23% fall in income from our traditional defence research market – a fall of some £38m.