Slowdown speeds up

Around 140,000 jobs will be lost in the engineering and manufacturing industry this year, according to the latest survey by the Engineering Employers Federation (

).

The manufacturers’ organisation sharply revised its economic forecast following responses from 782 companies that revealed the extent of the financial crisis in the industry.

Publishing its first quarter survey, EEF reported that the pace of downturn had accelerated in the first two months of 2009 with the trend set to continue through to 2010.

Output fell by 39 per cent and orders by 54 per cent as the weakening demand effected domestic and export orders.

Employment balance in the first quarter of 2009 fell to 37 per cent, down from -13 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008. Investment plans have also been reduced with 45 per cent of companies reporting that they will scale back in the coming year.

EEF chief economist, Steve Radley, said: ‘There is simply no hiding the fact these figures make grim reading. The past three months have been extremely difficult for manufacturers, with markets at home and abroad showing severe declines. However, while few firms expect things to get better in the near future they are also focusing on making sure they are ready to take advantage of the eventual recovery.’