New jobs warning after 'grim day'

Four hundred jobs are threatened at Budelpack, Maesteg

A Welsh business leader says the nation should be braced for more bad jobs news in coming months.

David Rosser, director of the employers' organisation CBI Wales, said consumer confidence had collapsed.

His called Wednesday "a particularly grim day," with 600 south Wales jobs at risk at a Maesteg cosmetics factory and a drinks manufacturer at Llantrisant.

At least 1,500 workers in Wales have been told this month they will be made redundant or their job is at risk.

400 staff at Budelpack International COSi in Maesteg are being paid until the end of November, but administrators have yet to decide how many will be needed to complete outstanding orders.

The consumer has largely shut up shop

David Prosser, CBI

The Serious Food Company at Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf, entered a 90-day consultation period with 800 staff, with 200 jobs under threat.

The company makes juices for supermarkets.

"Yesterday [Wednesday] was a particularly grim day," said Mr Rosser.

"Those watching the economy in Wales will have been quite battered by the series of bad news stories.

"Sadly, the CBI's economic forecasts which we released a few weeks ago said we though that unemployment would go from just under 2m currently to just under 3m this time next year.

WELSH JOB LOSSES TIMELINE

26 Nov: 200 jobs under threat at Serious Foods, Llantrisant and 400 at Budelpack COSi, Maesteg

19 Nov: 250 jobs set to be lost at Bosch car parts factory, Miskin; 50 jobs at Waldron car parts plant, Tonyrefail; 20 jobs at Protherics drugs company at Ffostrasol, Ceredigion

18 Nov: 337 jobs lost at washing machine makers Hoover, Merthyr Tydfil

29 Oct: 81 full-time jobs and 150 agency jobs cut at Budelpack COSi, Maesteg; Ford announced 600 lay-offs on basic pay over Christmas at Bridgend

24 Oct: 200 jobs set to be lost at cosmetics firm L'Or�al, Talbot Green

"So we are going to see a number of announcements like this.

"It's really down to consumer spending, the consumer has largely shut up shop, confidence has gone."

Announcements of at least 1,500 job losses and threats, mostly in the south Wales valleys, have been made over the last month.

They include more than 330 at Hoover in Merthyr Tydfil and 250 posts under threat at Bosch car components plant at Miskin.

However, Mr Rosser did believe that the assembly government was responding well to the current situation.

"I am very happy that this isn't the assembly [government] paying lip service to this issue, there is action going on," added Mr Rosser.

Swift action

He said moves to ensure public sector services paid their bill on time was just one step in the right direction.

But he added: "We have to be realistic, the Welsh Assembly Government cannot by itself solve the problem of consumer confidence, it cannot be itself restore liquidity to the banking market."

The current economic downturn has led to calls for swift action from union leaders.

"We recognise that it is entirely possible that unemployment will rise significantly, to levels we haven't seen for decades," admitted Vaughan Gethin, President of Wales TUC.

"We've already called, and the CBI has as well, for an active government to do something about banks and lending.

"They have had a large amount of our money, public money, and we think they should make good their end of the bargain."