Skip to main content

Welsh job losses continue

In April 2008, I compiled a list of the job losses in Wales since May 2007.

Today, we saw 157 job losses announced at AB Electronics in Cardiff. Since the last tally in April, the following job losses have been announced

April
Corus, Llanelli, 300 jobs
Fenmarc, Wrexham, 190 jobs
Kimball, Bridgend, 160 jobs

May
Western Corrugated, Cwmbran, 60 jobs
Georgia Pacific, Bridgend, 46 jobs
Flexsys, Wrexham, 163 jobs
Nemo Personal Finance, 70 jobs
JCB, Wrexham, 56 jobs
David Mclean, 30 jobs

June
Kingspan, Blaenau Gwent, 59 jobs
Paramount Foods, Deeside, 150 jobs
Ventura, Cardiff, 600 jobs

July
Zurich, Cardiff, 70 jobs
AB Electronics, 157 jobs

That equates to over 1700 jobs in just over three months. This, of course, only covers major announcements and does not include any redundancies in construction and retail which have also been going on during the same period.

I believe the reality of the current position of the Welsh economy has yet to hit home. Yes, new jobs are being supported through WAG grants but they do not compensate for the employment lost within existing firms in Wales.

We need to rethink our economic strategy and work alongside existing firms based in Wales to examine how value can be added to their business so that they remain here to develop their new products or services. It costs companies nine times as much to attract new business as to keep existing ones and I am sure the same ratios apply to economic development.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Totally agree. Why doesn't the Assembly Gov. look more to support and develop those home grown businesses to expand. After all, these are the businesses that struggle on a daily basis to trade in Wales, not just come in for the grants available, then leave when they run out.
July 05, 2008 12:18 pm
Anonymous said…
Ventura is a recent example....Grants & Gone !
July 05, 2008 12:25 pm
bewildered said…
As a nation we need to wise up. We need to to put more effort and money into developing high value-added indigenous industry. Inward investment has a part to play but it is too often used as the easy option. The longevity and quality of many of the jobs created through inward investment is questionable... e.g. Amazon a glorified warehouse!! This didn't stop some serious back slapping in the assembly however.
We need to get the right mix, large numbers of jobs can be created in a relatively short time through inward investment projects.
However, there should be more done to develop and support high added value indigenous companies that have a long term commitment to Wales. We also need to attract the best minds into Science, Engineering and Technology. However,this requires a shift in the attitudes of employers and indeed society in general. Pay Engineers more and give them the status they deserve in society and you might have a chance of attracting the best minds to the profession. Our Scientisits and Engineers create and develop the technolgy, products, jobs and wealth that Wales and the UK in general desparately needs; yet British society sees fit to pay them less than many tradesmen.
July 08, 2008 2:28 pm
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE IMPORTANCE OF FRANCHISING

When we talk about start-ups and entrepreneurship, rarely do we discuss the potential of franchising not only as a way of establishing new ventures in the economy but also as a method of growing existing businesses. According to the British Franchising Association, franchising is the granting of a licence by one person (the franchisor) to another (the franchisee), which entitles the franchisee to own and operate their own business under the brand, systems and proven business model of the franchisor. The franchisee also receives initial training and ongoing support, comprising all the elements necessary to establish a previously untrained person in the business. This enables individuals to start their own businesses without having to develop their own ideas and utilising an existing brand and established market. Of course, whilst each franchise business is owned and operated by the franchisee, the franchisor controls the quality and standards of the way in which the business is
Read more

THE MANUFACTURING STRATEGY FOR WALES

Last night, I received the following comment on the previous post relating to a piece I had written back in early 2007 about the state of the manufacturing sector in Wales. "Dylan, you seem to be ignoring the fact that manufacturers in Wales have written the manufacturing strategy. Small and large manufacturers, all represented at the Manufacturing forum, have co-written this strategy. WAG has recently supported this strategy and have funded a co-ordinator with resources. Manufactures are happy with this progress as they are following the strategy they wanted. I know that the Conservatives have attacked the strategy as they seem to think that WAG wrote the strategy. They couldn't be more wrong. The Manufacturing Strategy was written by manufacturers, for manufacturers and is supported by WAG. If you don't agree with this, then I can invite you to the next Manufacturing Forum and you can explain to the manufacturers how their strategy is wrong....I appreciate that there is
11 comments
Read more

Change your business through change

All business organisations, especially entrepreneurial small firms, must cope with an ever changing business environment. However, small firms have a very limited ability in being able to control and relate to changes in the environment, although this can depend on the context of change. For example, if a major customer changes increases its order, the entrepreneur should be able to predict events and actions with regard to the timing and consequences of such a change and forecast any changes in the required resources and cashflow. Given this, the entrepreneur can undertake rational short-interval planning activity in order to underpin organisational control. However, much of the change facing business today is largely unpredictable in terms of its timing and its consequences. In other words, such change is open-ended, with it often being unclear what is changing or why it is changing. For example, the effect of the 9/11 bombing of the World Trade Centre was largely unexpected and its
Post a Comment
Read more