The car industry was rocked by more grim news yesterday when Jaguar Land Rover said hundreds of agency workers will lose their jobs at major factories.
The car industry was rocked by more grim news yesterday when Jaguar Land Rover said hundreds of agency workers will lose their jobs at major factories.
The Indian-owned motor giant said around 850 IT and engineering staff at plants in Castle Bromwich, Solihull, Whitley and Gaydon, all in the West Midlands, will be laid off by the end of the year.
The news came as senior figures from Britain's car, housing and construction industries yesterday met UK Government ministers to call for Whitehall's help to see them through the economic downturn.
And at No 10, Gordon Brown had a breakfast summit with representatives from the construction industry.
At Jaguar Land Rover, the job cuts will halve the firm's normal 1700-strong complement of agency staff.
The company is already looking for 600 voluntary job losses as part of a redundancy programme.
The firm, based at Gaydon in Warwickshire, employs 16,000 staff at plants in the West Midlands and at Halewood, Merseyside.
Meanwhile, administrators were yesterday sifting through the wreckage of Woolworths on another day of misery for the UK retail sector.
Deloitte is hunting for a buyer for the business and has received approaches from "a number of parties" over the 813-store retail chain and the firm's UK wholesaling arm in the past 24 hours.
The woes of Woolworths came amid news the owner of Currys and PC World had slumped almost £30m into the red, while sales collapsed at DIY giant B&Q. Furniture chain MFI went into administration on Wednesday.
DSG International, which owns PC World and Currys, saw shares tumble by 16% yesterday. Its underlying losses of £29.8m in the 24 weeks to October 18 compared with a £52.4m profit the previous year - an £80m swing.
Retail group Kingfisher said sales at its B&Q business were down nearly 9% amid the slump in consumer spending and a plunging housing market.
At No 10, Gordon Brown had a breakfast summit with representatives from the Home Builders Federation, the Federation of Master Builders and the Council of Mortgage Lenders to hear how the construction industry, which employs two million people and represents 9% of the nation's wealth-creation, was one of the hardest-hit sectors with building projects grinding to a halt and workers being laid off.
The Prime Minister told them his government recognised the importance of the construction industry and its impact on the economy as a whole.
Mr Brown pointed out how the UK Government was bringing forward construction projects and investing more in social housing.
After the meeting, John Cross of the National Housing Federation said it had been a "broad but useful discussion" to raise the issues affecting the housing market.
"We are all saying the key bit is about building confidence and accessing the mortgage market in a sensible way."
Later, Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, met the nation's car-makers, who, with sales falling, want government financial aid to see them through the downturn.
They want a state guaranteed credit facility, more credit for manufacturers and suppliers, easier access to cash for car finance firms and a delay in the rise in vehicle excise duty.
Meantime in Scotland, Jim Murphy, the Scottish Secretary, met the leading citizens' advisory groups to find ways to help the poorest in Scottish society stay out of avoidable debt during the credit crisis.
"It's essential to remember, among stories about failing banks and the wider economy, that the global financial crisis has a real effect on real people and that those most affected are often the most vulnerable in society, who are more likely to be afflicted by rising costs and higher charges," said Mr Murphy.
