http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle5627659.ece
Swindon on the ropes
Honda is just one of the companies making cutbacks in a once-thriving town
To some, Swindon is a nowhere town, a commercial wilderness with no character, but it has kept Mark Horsington, 46, in work for the past 26 years. Finding a job was not a problem. He worked his way up to operations manager at Mikrolive, a PC repair company, in charge of more than 60 people.
It paid well and, with his wife’s pay from nursing, gave them and their two children a comfortable life.
However, in October 2007, Mikrolive went into administration. Horsington soon found another job as an office manager at a PVC window maker but, a year later, was made redundant again. This time he knew that finding work would be difficult.
“I’m just doing bits and pieces now,” he said. “I had eight weeks’ work at a company making panels for armoured vehicles before Christmas. Now, I’m doing the night shift at a local warehouse packing books.
I’ve gone from a well-paid job to earning £6.50 an hour, but there’s nothing else out there. My wife is working extra shifts, but we’ve had to cut back on everything.”
He is not alone. Latest unemployment figures were tipping 2m but did not include job cuts at Barclays, Corus, GKN and countless others. In such an environment workers fear for their job security. In Swindon that fear has turned into reality.
The Japanese carmaker Honda, the town’s main employer, closed its gates this weekend for four months. About 1,000 of its 4,800 Swindon workforce have taken redundancy while the rest are on reduced salary until production resumes. Most of the plant’s 800 temporary workers were dispensed with in the months before this weekend’s closure.
Norman Baldwin was there for two years on a temporary contract. “At the beginning of January I was told I was no longer needed. There was no package or anything and now I’m working nights for a lot less money. It’s temporary, so I could be on the dole in five weeks because there is not much around. Swindon used to be a good place to work but it’s bleak now.”
Twice as many workers are on the dole than a year ago. Suppliers are also suffering. TS Tech, which makes seats for Honda Civics, has laid off 200 of its 800 employees in the past two weeks. Redundancies are expected at other suppliers.
Swindon’s economy is not wholly reliant on car manufacturing. Since Great Western Railway (GWR) shut its Swindon operations in the 1970s, the town has become a destination for global companies, attracting the mobile-phone giant Motorola and the insurance company Zurich.
This diverse economy was meant to protect it against the job carnage after the closure of GWR, which once employed 14,000, but the credit crisis has exposed its weaknesses.
Firms were drawn by Swindon’s location, on the M4 corridor, and its large pool of workers. The council attracted companies with benign taxes but is now finding that globalisation has global problems.
Tyco, an American electronics manufacturer, opened a Swindon factory in 2000, but is relocating to the cheaper Czech Republic with the loss of 260 jobs. Motorola’s British headquarters in the town has shrunk its workforce as export markets have shrivelled.
Swindon was also home to Woolworths’ main distribution warehouse, which employed 500 until it collapsed before Christmas. Alison Hindmarsh worked on distribution for 16 years, her husband for 14 years. They expected to retire there. “We’ve a year’s respite from paying the mortgage, so we’re not going to lose the house, but it has been very traumatic. It’s almost like a bereavement, losing your job like that,” she said. “You’ve just got to keep positive. I put myself on a course at the local college because there will be a lot of competition, so I’m trying to make myself more employable.”
Woolworths also made Donna Ashdown and her husband redundant. Their youngest son, 25, was laid off by Honda, so mother and son went to see CD Recruitment and were lucky to be taken on.
Catherine Stubbs, managing director of Beavers Recruitment, said: “Some agencies have closed their books because there are too many people and too few jobs. Swindon has been devastated by this.” On the high street, Woolies, Zavvi, Adams and The Officers Club menswear retailer are boarded up, and Thames Water is planning up to 300 job cuts at its Swindon and Reading call centres. If and when the bounce comes, it will need lots of spring to save Swindon.
As a hub for global companies, the town grew rapidly. In the past decade thousands of houses were built and retail parks were constructed to service the growing population. Orb Retail Park, on the outskirts, has a cavernous Homebase, with Borders, Next, Currys and Asda. Yet on one evening last week – apart from Asda – there were no more than three people in each shop.
The council is trying to stimulate the economy by encouraging local procurement and attracting public-sector jobs. In the longer term, it hopes the town will be able to carve out a niche in environmental technology, and it is considering building a green technology park.
When companies are ready to employ again there will be a vast pool of people to fish from. Alison Hindmarsh is prepared. “I’ve got all my stuff ready. I got some bargains in the sales, blouses and other smart things for interviews. It’s all there waiting to be put on.”
Swindon on the ropes
Honda is just one of the companies making cutbacks in a once-thriving town
To some, Swindon is a nowhere town, a commercial wilderness with no character, but it has kept Mark Horsington, 46, in work for the past 26 years. Finding a job was not a problem. He worked his way up to operations manager at Mikrolive, a PC repair company, in charge of more than 60 people.
It paid well and, with his wife’s pay from nursing, gave them and their two children a comfortable life.
However, in October 2007, Mikrolive went into administration. Horsington soon found another job as an office manager at a PVC window maker but, a year later, was made redundant again. This time he knew that finding work would be difficult.
“I’m just doing bits and pieces now,” he said. “I had eight weeks’ work at a company making panels for armoured vehicles before Christmas. Now, I’m doing the night shift at a local warehouse packing books.
I’ve gone from a well-paid job to earning £6.50 an hour, but there’s nothing else out there. My wife is working extra shifts, but we’ve had to cut back on everything.”
He is not alone. Latest unemployment figures were tipping 2m but did not include job cuts at Barclays, Corus, GKN and countless others. In such an environment workers fear for their job security. In Swindon that fear has turned into reality.
The Japanese carmaker Honda, the town’s main employer, closed its gates this weekend for four months. About 1,000 of its 4,800 Swindon workforce have taken redundancy while the rest are on reduced salary until production resumes. Most of the plant’s 800 temporary workers were dispensed with in the months before this weekend’s closure.
Norman Baldwin was there for two years on a temporary contract. “At the beginning of January I was told I was no longer needed. There was no package or anything and now I’m working nights for a lot less money. It’s temporary, so I could be on the dole in five weeks because there is not much around. Swindon used to be a good place to work but it’s bleak now.”
Twice as many workers are on the dole than a year ago. Suppliers are also suffering. TS Tech, which makes seats for Honda Civics, has laid off 200 of its 800 employees in the past two weeks. Redundancies are expected at other suppliers.
Swindon’s economy is not wholly reliant on car manufacturing. Since Great Western Railway (GWR) shut its Swindon operations in the 1970s, the town has become a destination for global companies, attracting the mobile-phone giant Motorola and the insurance company Zurich.
This diverse economy was meant to protect it against the job carnage after the closure of GWR, which once employed 14,000, but the credit crisis has exposed its weaknesses.
Firms were drawn by Swindon’s location, on the M4 corridor, and its large pool of workers. The council attracted companies with benign taxes but is now finding that globalisation has global problems.
Tyco, an American electronics manufacturer, opened a Swindon factory in 2000, but is relocating to the cheaper Czech Republic with the loss of 260 jobs. Motorola’s British headquarters in the town has shrunk its workforce as export markets have shrivelled.
Swindon was also home to Woolworths’ main distribution warehouse, which employed 500 until it collapsed before Christmas. Alison Hindmarsh worked on distribution for 16 years, her husband for 14 years. They expected to retire there. “We’ve a year’s respite from paying the mortgage, so we’re not going to lose the house, but it has been very traumatic. It’s almost like a bereavement, losing your job like that,” she said. “You’ve just got to keep positive. I put myself on a course at the local college because there will be a lot of competition, so I’m trying to make myself more employable.”
Woolworths also made Donna Ashdown and her husband redundant. Their youngest son, 25, was laid off by Honda, so mother and son went to see CD Recruitment and were lucky to be taken on.
Catherine Stubbs, managing director of Beavers Recruitment, said: “Some agencies have closed their books because there are too many people and too few jobs. Swindon has been devastated by this.” On the high street, Woolies, Zavvi, Adams and The Officers Club menswear retailer are boarded up, and Thames Water is planning up to 300 job cuts at its Swindon and Reading call centres. If and when the bounce comes, it will need lots of spring to save Swindon.
As a hub for global companies, the town grew rapidly. In the past decade thousands of houses were built and retail parks were constructed to service the growing population. Orb Retail Park, on the outskirts, has a cavernous Homebase, with Borders, Next, Currys and Asda. Yet on one evening last week – apart from Asda – there were no more than three people in each shop.
The council is trying to stimulate the economy by encouraging local procurement and attracting public-sector jobs. In the longer term, it hopes the town will be able to carve out a niche in environmental technology, and it is considering building a green technology park.
When companies are ready to employ again there will be a vast pool of people to fish from. Alison Hindmarsh is prepared. “I’ve got all my stuff ready. I got some bargains in the sales, blouses and other smart things for interviews. It’s all there waiting to be put on.”
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