Workers face jobs massacre

THE TUC has forecast that 150,000 manufacturing jobs will be slashed in 2002. This week Marconi, the giant telecoms group, was threatening to slash 4,000 jobs worldwide. That could mean over 1,000 workers in Britain are set to lose their jobs, on top of the 3,000-plus jobs Marconi has already slashed.

This follows the announcement last week by Westland helicopters that it was axing nearly 1,000 jobs and would close its site at Weston-Super-Mare. The Goodyear tyre factory in Wolverhampton said last week that it will shut down its truck tyre division in March, sacking 460 workers.

It has also threatened workers that the whole plant will close within a year unless they work harder. Other job cuts which have been announced before and are taking effect now include:

• Ford’s Dagenham plant will stop car production in February. Some 1,300 workers will lose their jobs, with more jobs going in the local area and in components companies.
• Shorts aerospace plant in Belfast is due to scrap 900 jobs next month.
• Consignia (the Post Office) will also announce the details of 30,000 job losses in February.
• The Vauxhall car plant in Luton will shut in March, with over 2,000 workers thrown on the scrapheap.