http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story....3A00%3A32%3A480

Another sign of people tightening their belts.

Hi mkil - welcome!

I got the impression it was sort of on the cards, but when it happened, it was all a bit sudden. Could be useful to keep this thread for other job losses and (any) gains for the area - on the Norwich/Norfolk thread we discussed a while back about the LSE engineering works - it seems like there is a bit of good news there - in that they have rehired some of the people that had been made redundant as business is picking up Sadly I fear it will be more bad news than good over the coming months.

Thanks, thought I'd stop lurking and actually post something

I wonder who is going to be next to go in the area?

I think any employer who's business is related in some way to the housing market (bathroom/kitchen/furniture makers, carpet firms etc.) are going to be vulnerable plus any firm that manufactures retail goods. The other thing is new car dealers will really feel the pinch now, especially those made in Europe and Japan because the pound has very quickly lost value against the Euro (12%) and Yen (14%) meaning imports are now more expensive.

Couple that with the credit crunch and the fact that new cars are the next biggest expenditure after property, then I can see a number of motor dealers going to the wall over the coming years although secondhand dealers will probably go largely unscathed. Travel firms might also be the next in line as people cut back on foreign holidays which will have also gone up in price with a stronger Euro.

This is unfortunately only the start - GDP growth is just going to hold up this year, but I think it will go negative at some point next year and stay negative throughout 2010. By the time that happens the media will be using the word recession and the dark days of 1992 will again be upon us.