JOBS ON THE LINE Would you put your life savings on the line to create a new business now? How does a local company win a contract to distribute speedboats across Europe? As hundreds of local people face up to the prospect of redundancy or belt tightening, Radio Royle examines how the North West is affected by uncertain economic times.  | |  LISTEN
| RIB CONTRACT A Derry company has won a major contract to distribute speedboats across Europe. Amanda Williams spoke to Dominic O'Loughlin from Rib Marine. |
| | LISTEN | U-TURN The manufacturer, Arntz Belting, suspended its decision to lay off 28 workers after a u-turn on voluntary redundancies. It follows objections from trade unionists. Teresa Craig reports. |
| | LISTEN | TOO LATE One emailer told Paul McFadden how he'd put his life savings on the line to set up a business in what he thought was a thriving city centre. After 18 months he said it was was too late to save his business. |
| | LISTEN | APPETITE FOR BUSINESS One fast food chain, "Subway", has announced it's going to open 40 new shops - despite the gathering gloom of the recession. So is our appetite for sandwiches increasing as we tighten our belts? Teresa Craig reports. |
| | LISTEN | RETAIL SURVIVORS Are independent retailers better placed to survive the down-turn than high street chains? As the multinationals struggle, local businesses are managing to keep the accountants from their doors. Joe Doran reports. |
| | LISTEN | CALCAST WORKER Just before Christmas 42 year old Michael Wallace lost his job when the Calcast factory in Campsie, in Derry, closed. He'd been there for 12 years. He spoke to our reporter Michael Bradley about adjusting to life without work, and his fears for the future. |
| | LISTEN | SEAGATE CUTS WAGES Workers at Seagate in Derry were told more than a quarter of them would receive a pay cut of 10%. Approximately 300 people in the Springtown premises would be affected. The plant manager and company vice-president, John Spangler, spoke to Gerry Bradley. |
| | LISTEN | SEAGATE UNCERTAINTY Seagate in San Francisco announced a 10 per cent reduction of its workforce. The Chief Executive resigned. It all left people working at the company's plant in Derry wondering about their own future. Sarah Brett suggested to Chris Nuttall, the Technical Corresapondent with the Financial Times in San Francisco that the news had not been good. |
| | LISTEN | AVX Coleraine is coming to terms with the news of 92 job losses at AVX. The firm - which makes parts for the electronics market - used to employ 1,300 people. That's now dropped to just under three hundred and it's feared even more jobs could go in the new year. Amanda Williams reports. |
| | LISTEN | CALCAST - 17 December The international problems faced by the US car giant, Ford, have caused job losses in Derry. The Derry motor parts manufacturer, Calcast, has closed, with the loss of around 100 jobs. And as Michael O'Donnell reports, some of the workers don't hold out much hope of finding another job any time soon. His report begins with Michael Wallace at home with his children. |
| | LISTEN | CALCAST SIT-IN 24 November Workers at Calcast held a sit-in protest against the offer of one month's statutory redundancy notice, until management offered them a better deal, as Gerry Bradley reports. |
| | LISTEN | HOW MANY JOBS? Things will get better - and then much worse. Thousands of jobs could go, just in retailing. That's according to the head of retail at the University of Ulster, Donald McFetridge. He spoke to Paul McFadden as it was being announced that Woolworths was being put into administration. |
| | LISTEN | WOOLWORTHS 80 jobs in Derry and Strabane were put at risk when Woolworths put its chain of 800 shops into administration. Gerry Bradley went to meet some of the shoppers, and workers. |
| | LISTEN | CROSS BORDER SHOPPERS One bank in Buncrana recently ran out of sterling because demand was so great. It's all because the value of the euro has strengthened in value against the pound sterling. And shoppers from the republic are coming north to shop. Michael Bradley's report begins with shop owner, John O'Donnell. |
| | LISTEN | SEAGATE Teresa Craig spoke to some of the 600 workers who lost their jobs at the disc-drive manufacturer, Seagate, in Limavady. The company moved production to Malaysia to take advantage of cheaper wages. At its height, Seagate employed nearly a thousand people in the town. |
RELATED LINKS North West tops jobless league Woolworths to go into administration Fears for 80 jobs at Woolworths Calcast workers hold sit-in protest The human cost of job cuts Credit Crunch "behind crime rise" THE BBC IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTENT ON EXTERNAL WEBSITES. |
