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Region will suffer most from government cuts

A NEW report has claimed that the North East will suffer more from the effects of government cuts than any other region in the UK.

As redundancy looms over Government employees, research by accountants UHY Hacker Young shows the public purse pays the wages of 43% of workers in Middlesbrough and 38% in Newcastle.

The two destinations are second and third in the table of towns and cities, with the biggest percentage of their workforce in the public sector.

The expected job losses come on top of figures produced by the Northern Trade Union Congress in June which show up to six people are already chasing every job on offer in the North East.

As the Government decides where the axe will fall, Nissan, which is investing £50m in its Sunderland plant to produce the Leaf electric car in 2013 and to make the batteries to power it, is urging caution.

“It’s going to be difficult, but I don’t think it’s going to be a disaster,” said Trevor Mann, Nissan’s senior vice president for manufacturing in Europe.

“Many people are comparing the situation that we are in now, and the Government spending review, and looking at putting us back into a recession like we were in the late 70s early 80s.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .