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Thousands more jobs go in banks, building and media
Dick Murray, Transport Editor18.11.08
THOUSANDS of jobs were cut today in industries ranging from banking to building suppliers as the economic downturn bit harder.
The biggest cull came from Wolseley, supplier of plumbing equipment to the building trade, which said it would be axing 2,300 posts and closing 200 branches across the country.
It cited the collapse in the housing market, which has brought thousands of building projects to a standstill.
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley today started handing out redundancy notices to about 250 City workers as part of a programme to shed around 2,000 posts worldwide. The losses will be in investment banking and asset management.
National Express said it was cutting 300 workers at its East Anglia trains operations. Unions said the firm was anticipating a serious downturn.
In the media world, the Independent and Independent on Sunday said they would be shedding 90 editorial jobs after a reduction in revenues from advertising. The company is also considering contracting out other areas of its operation - a move likely to lead to further cuts.
One City economist, who asked to remain anonymous because of fears about his own job, said today: "You're only seeing the start of it. The economy is going down rapidly and company bosses have no choice but to cut, cut, cut."
Official unemployment numbers last week put the total at 1.8 million with two million now widely expected by Christmas.
The relentless pace of culls has led to fears that Britain could have three million unemployed by the time the recession peaks next year.
Last week saw thousands of jobs go from big companies including BT, Yellow Pages owner Yell, Virgin Media and Vodafone, while only yesterday banking giant Citigroup announced 52,000 cuts worldwide.
Wolseley, today's biggest job cutter, has already axed 15,000 worldwide this year. The latest cull from the owner of the Plumb Center chain will mean about 15 per cent of staff joining the dole queue.
