Gloom deepening with 7,000 job cuts in a day

Jan 15 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal

ALMOST 7,000 job losses were announced yesterday with companies across all sectors trying to cut costs and beat the economic slowdown.

The biggest losses were at banking giant Barclays, which said it planned to cut 2,100 jobs at its retail and commercial banking business, while car-maker Jaguar Land Rover said it would axe 450 jobs, including 300 managers, as part of a cost-cutting exercise.

Meanwhile, administrators for music, DVD and games retailer Zavvi closed another 18 UK stores, including one in Gateshead, with the loss of 353 jobs.

And home shopping giant Grattan raised fears that up to 3,800 jobs will be axed after unveiling wide-ranging proposals aimed at stemming losses.

“This emphatically does not mean that all jobs will become redundant, although, following consultation, the restructuring and streamlining necessary to bring the business back to profit is expected to have a significant impact on levels of employment,” the company said.

The losses were the latest in a growing tide of redundancies which are bringing increased levels of misery to workers across the country.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s spokesman said: “Obviously, the Government is disappointed to hear this news.

“All company job losses are, of course, regrettable.

“Jaguar Land Rover’s decision reflects the continued downturn in the market and that is a reflection of what is happening more generally in the global economy.”

Barclays announced the move less than 24 hours after it confirmed proposals to cut a similar number of posts at its investment banking, Barclays Capital, and Barclays Global Investors businesses.

The latest cuts, which could affect staff in high- street branches, bring the total number of job cuts announced this week by Barclays to more than 4,000.

A spokesman said: “Barclays continually reviews its operations and resources so that they function efficiently as business needs and customer requirements evolve.

“In the current market conditions, this is particularly important.”

The firm will take all possible measures to reduce compulsory lay-offs, including natural attrition, releasing contractors, closing vacancies and calling for voluntary redundancies.

Elsewhere in the banking sector, there are fears that the merger of banking giants Merrill Lynch and Bank of America could result in as many as 2,000 UK redundancies.

The cuts at Jaguar Land Rover, including 150 agency white collar staff, follow the severe reduction in demand for new cars, said the company.

Jaguar Land Rover also announced that managers will not receive any bonuses this year, while pay rises have been deferred to October.

International pharmaceutical firm Pfizer said it is to cut up to 240 jobs from its UK workforce, reducing its global research staff by between 5% and 8% over the coming few months.

Pfizer currently employs between 3,000-3,500 workers at its European research and development base in Sandwich, Kent, including some contracted staff.

It is understood cuts could affect between 150 and 240 jobs at the site.

Pfizer said the expected job losses follow its decision to focus its future research on six main areas – oncology, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, pain, inflammation and diabetes.