Jobs leaking away in their thousands

Feb 12 2009 By The Journal

THERE were more job cuts in the North East yesterday as it was revealed that 5,000 people have already lost their posts in the region during this quarter.

Much of the rise of 8.4% was driven by large manufacturing plants, such as Sunderland’s Nissan factory, shedding jobs due to a slump in demand.

The car-maker shed 1,200 jobs, almost one in four, last month after a huge downturn in car sales.

But smaller firms like NSK Bearings in Peterlee, Portakabin in York and Sitel in Newcastle have also announced they are shedding staff, with at least 260 jobs at risk.

And yesterday, the region’s largest law firm announced it would lose 90 posts as it positions itself for a hard year ahead.

Dickinson Dees says 15 of its fee-earning solicitors will be among the 90 of its 775 total staff to be made redundant.

Sitel, which provides customer care and back-office functions for other firms, said 220 people would be made redundant when it closes offices in Newcastle and Derby.

Andy Kerr, deputy general secretary for the Communication Workers Union said the job losses were "a sign of difficult times".

"It comes as a great blow to the workers at these sites who are a dedicated and hard-working group of staff," he said.

"We will be in full consultation with the company regarding the impact on staff and will do everything possible to protect jobs." A Communication Workers Union spokesman added: "These are very difficult economic times, that are starting to crunch for people."