65,000 manufacturing jobs to be axed in the next six months

As many as 65,000 manufacturing workers will lose their jobs in the next six months, according to research by the CBI.

The survey of 515 manufacturing employers found that they expected the sector to lose 23,000 jobs in the third quarter of this financial year, and a further 42,000 during the fourth quarter.

Manufacturers expect the demand for goods made in the UK to fall at the fastest rate since 1999. The latest quarterly CBI Industrial Trends survey showed that declining demand for manufactured goods, coupled with a sharp fall in output, has resulted in the sharpest single-quarter fall in manufacturing confidence for 28 years.

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Ian McCafferty, the CBI’s chief economic adviser, said: “The sharp falls in orders and output show that the slowdown in the UK economy is now spreading to sectors previously resilient to the weakness in the banking and housing markets.

“We can but hope that the recapitalisation of banks and the cut in interest rates, which took place just as the survey closed, will prevent a further credit squeeze over the winter,” McCafferty said.