CIPD warns UK to prepare for widescale redundancy

The UK should brace itself for a further wave of redundancies, according to one economist, following news that 533,000 jobs were axed in the US in November.

John Philpott, Chief economist at the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), said that job losses in the US are likely to be replicated, on a smaller scale, in the UK and the rest of Europe.

He explained: “The impact of the credit crunch in the US is likely to have a proportional effect over here. We’ll see a similar effect [on job numbers] but in proportional terms. Not just here either – this will impact in Europe as well.”

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A recent report by the CIPD and management consultancy KPMG revealed that a quarter of UK employers had drawn up plans to make redundancies during 2009.

Retailer Woolworths has this week made 450 of its 1,100 support staff redundant.