Jobless figures

Figures released today show the number of people claiming job-seeker's allowance in Wales has gone above 100,000.

During 2008, the number of new claimants rose by 28%.

It means 7% of the working population of Wales are now signing on.

It's worth bearing in mind that these figures have a lag to them, as they only go up to the end of 2008, and they only take account unemployed people who are actually claiming job-seekers, so the actual figure is likely to be significantly higher.

Worth remembering the figures are being tracked on my job loss map.

Ideas for Life...jobs 'til March?

Today Panasonic announced it's to cut five per cent of its work force - 15,000 people. Half of those will based in Japan.

Panasonic employs just over 1000 people in South Wales, 400 making telephone switchboards in Newport, and 640 at it's Cardiff R&D and Manufacturing plant.

Still early days yet but recent manufacturing closures across Wales have made everyone involved pretty jumpy. Cardiff Central MP Jenny Willott branded any potential cuts 'a disaster' while Shadow Minister for the Economy David Melding AM called it 'extremely worrying news'.

It will be interesting to see if the Government at the Bay and/or the one in Westminster are able to do anything to ensure the axe doesn't fall in South Wales...the signs aren't good after the Corus debacle though.

Sun Juice update

Workers at the Serious Food Sun Juice factory in Llantrisant have been told 127 of them will lose their jobs.

I'm still trying to find out whether this is instead of or on top of the 200 redundancies that were announced in November.

The company, which supplies Tesco and Starbucks, blames harsh trading conditions for the cuts.

Job Loss Map

Seems to be a lot of talk about South Wales, and Cardiff in particular, being protected from the recession by the public sector.

While it's true the large number of Local Government, NHS, University, and Quango employees in Cardiff are largely safe, there have still been a number of less high-profile redundancies across the region.

To see for yourself, check out the map below. It's a work in progress but nonetheless it shows just how badly the area's been affected. If anyone spots any that I've missed out please feel free to email me and I'll make the changes asap.

(ps. The map seems to work a lot better in Firefox browsers)

Corus Steel

On a day of global job cuts, the recession (it's official) made its presence felt closer to home today when one of the region's largest employers wielded the axe.

Corus have announced it intends to shed 10% of its work force to cope with the fall in demand for steel.

Of 3,500 planned redundancies, 2,500 will be UK based, with around 1,100 in Wales. Llanwern is the hardest hit site, where the mill is expected to be mothballed (although some fear closure altogether) and more than 500 staff laid off.

They blame the recession, falling steel prices, rising energy costs and the decline of the construction, automobile and manufacturing industries.

A press release outlining the company's 'initiative to enhance competitiveness" states:

"Today’s initiative is strategic and structural in nature. Elements of the initiative comprise long-term plans that were already under consideration, but which have been brought forward as a result of the slowdown. It should bring annual improvements in operating profit of more than £200m."

Another gloomy day...

Today saw more than 100 job cuts across South Wales.

Celtic Manor, the host of the 2010 Ryder Cup, announced that it will be losing 70 jobs. The five star resort becomes the latest victim as the downturn hits the service sector.

And Timet in Waunarlwydd joins the ranks of manufacturers shedding staff as it adjusts to the downturn in demand for aluminium. 23 staff will lose their jobs.

And 30 staff face redundancy at a City Link call centre in Cardiff.

Triumph Business Systems

South Wales Echo is reporting that Triump Business Systems in Abercanaid is making 70 of its staff redundant.

The company have refused to comment on claims from a worker that the staff were notified on December 12.

More info here.

Sony wields axe

Today Sony has announced plans to shed 8,000 jobs and close ten per cent of their manufacturing plants.

560 staff are employed at Sony's Pencoed 'Technology Centre' (420 by Sony, 140 in linked businesses).

The Echo is reporting the jobs are still under threat, although when CJS spoke to a Unite spokesman we were told Sony had confirmed the plant wouldn't be affected.

Mixed messages. Not much comfort for workers.

300 Call Centre Staff 'Re-trained and Re-deployed'

Directory enquiries service 118-118 has announced the closure of one of its call centres in Cardiff. Staff will be offered the chance to relocate to one of its other offices in Cardiff or Swansea.

300 staff will be affected by the closure. We'll have to wait to see how many take up the offer of relocation.

Aluminium jobs at risk

The future of 450 workers at Novelis Aluminum works is up in the air after bosses spent yesterday talking to union chiefs about how to cope with falling demand.

Executives from the Swiss based company were at the plant in Rogerstone, Newport to discuss making the plant a viable operation, but they refused to rule out closure.

The plant's closure would be another substantial blow to manufacturing in South Wales.

More...

Rhodri Morgan urged to help save jobs

While yesterday's announcements by Credit Suisse, HSBC and Halfords should have only a limited impact in South Wales, an announcement is expected later this week on the future of 10 HMRC offices in Wales.

Among those likely to be affected are offices in Brecon, Bridgend, Merthyr and Pontypool (...EU Objective One areas).

In anticipation of this announcement PCS Regional Organiser Jeff Evans has written to Rhodri Morgan saying...

"“We urge WAG to do everything it can to press the case for the retention of these offices and to avert a potentially calamitous decision to close them.

Many of these offices are based in some of our most deprived communities.

The impact of the office closures will be felt more widely than the individuals employed there. It will also impact on local businesses and services at a difficult time.

It is perplexing that a UK Government department should be removing Government jobs from our poorest communities in contrast to your Government, which is doing the reverse.”

25.11.08 Update

30 job losses announced at Hi-Lex Cable Systems, a car parts manufacturer in Port Talbot. More...

Also, the 337 staff at Hoover will miss out on a Christmas bonus this year on top of the prospect of losing their jobs. More...

Job Loss Map

The map below shows where in Wales jobs are being cut.

The number's in the map pin relate to the year the cuts were made (ie. 9 = 2009, 8 = 2008...Red pins are awaiting a date).

To see this map in a separate window, click here

Compiling the figures for this map meant collating information from various sources, so many thanks to:

• Wales Online
• BBC Wales
• Dylan Jones Evans
  

To see the data used to plot this map, and more details about the job losses, click here.

Introduction

As part of my course in Broadcast Journalism, I've been made part of the team responsible for covering employment news.

Given the current state of the economy it's not surprising to hear the majority of the news in this area relates to redundancies/job losses.

I'm going to try to use this blog to keep a track of job losses as they happen. I would welcome any input you can provide, and while I'll do my best to keep all the figures accurate, please don't hesitate to let me know if I've made a mistake, or more importantly, missed something out.

Background

The last few months have seen a flurry of job-losses across Wales, with a number of large and small firms announcing closures or cut-backs as they try and limit the effects of the economic downturn.

The bulk of the job losses seem to have been in the manufacturing sector, despite the widely held view that the white collar workers will be the major victims of this recession.

As Dylan Jones pointed out in a recent article, the Welsh economy's saving grace could be the large Public Sector workforce, whose jobs are likely to be largely safeguarded by an increase in Government spending...although this hasn't prevented the current dispute between the PCS Union and the Government (their employers), which saw a civil service strike suspended at the 11th hour.

With Bosch, Hoover, and David McLean all confirming job losses in the last few days, my immediate focus is on tracking the number of employers cutting back on staff.

To help with this, I have set up a map showing where job losses have occurred.

Click here for a map outlining job losses in Wales.