From: "Crowley" 
Newsgroups: uk.politics.misc uk.finance alt.politics.british
Subject: Meltdown warnings as Britain loses 7,300 jobs in 24 hours
Date: 10 May 2006 00:39:02 -0700
   posting-account=yGNAvw0AAABsgRsckUU2yFAQy4yH8Lsf

Brown's so-called "economic miracle" is unravelling revealing it to be
all smoke and mirrors fuelled by record levels of debt and a record
trade deficit, both still increasing.
There's much worse to come .............

Times Online May 09, 2006
 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2172951,00.html

Meltdown warnings as Britain loses 7,300 jobs in 24 hours
By Lee Glendinning

The Government was today urged to take action to rescue British
industry after three companies today announced closures and outsourcing
leading to the loss of 7,300 jobs.

A series of grim announcements stunned workers and led to warnings of a
jobs
meltdown, especially in manufacturing.

The largest cut was at communications giant NTL which unveiled plans to
cut its workforce by 6,000 following a =A33.4 billion merger with cable
peer Telewest.

Home shopping firm Littlewoods Shop Direct announced that it was
closing three warehouses with the loss of 1,200 jobs.

And food giant Heinz said production of HP sauce would be moved from
Birmingham to abroad, meaning a loss of 125 jobs.

Union leaders have called for government intervention to stem the tide
of jobs from Britain to developing countries.

NTL has said that it hopes a large number of the job cuts could be
achieved through natural wastage, voluntary severance and a reduction
in part time staff. However there are likely to be up to 1,000
compulsory redundancies.

Steve Burch,  the chief executive, said the company was making a
concerted effort to keep the number of compulsories to an absolute
minimum.

Meanwhile, Liverpool-based retailer Littlewoods said it planned to
close  packing warehouses in Eccles, Wigan and Worcester in 2007. The
closure was blamed on "excess capacity".

Littlewoods employs around 700 staff in Wigan, 460 in Worcester and 40
in Eccles, and a further 650 at a surviving warehouse in Shaw.

The Union of Shops, Distributive and Allied Workers said the move was
devastating for its members.

Val Pugh, the national officer, said: "Our members at both sites have
done nothing wrong and have proved themselves to be very adaptable as
the home shopping market in the UK has continued to decline."

A final blow to industry came with the announcement that the Heinz
plant in Aston Birmingham - which has housed a manufacturing facility
since 1875 - is likely to close by March next year.

John Jordan, of the T&GWU, said that he had demanded a meeting with
management to explain: "why the company has broken its word to a loyal
workforce."

Heinz, which brought the HP business from Danone last year, said the
plant in Aston operated three days a week and spare capacity was
available at its site in Holland.

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