Major industry across Britain is to shut down for a month over Christmas as the recession tightens its grip. The car, steel and construction industries are worst hit, and others could follow as production is cut back while business tries to weather the storm. Luxury carmaker Bentley, which employs 3,800 people at Crewe, is to close from 11 December to 12 January. Workers will be paid for the usual two-week break, and the extra days will be 'banked' and repaid when the market improves, said the company. Vauxhall's car factory on Merseyside and van plant at Luton will be shut from 17 December to 3 January, while Honda in Swindon will halt its production from 18 December to 6 January. BMW, manufacturer of the Mini, is to close its Oxford factory for four weeks. Ford has confirmed that its Southampton plant will be closed for one month, leaving workers to survive on basic pay. Unions estimated it will cost each worker up to £300 in lost allowances. Sandra Gidley, Liberal Democrat MP for Romsey, said it was 'sad news' and many workers would feel 'short-changed'. But it was that hoped 'such short-term painful actions' would enable the plant to survive. The tyremaker Michelin, which employs 1,200 workers at Stoke-on-Trent, is to close its factory at Christmas and new year for the first time because it is accumulating too much stock. Corus, the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker, has announced plans to 'temporarily' shut down blast furnaces at Port Talbot and Scunthorpe. Union leaders have appealed to the company not to make any 'knee-jerk reaction' after the steel giant announced plans for a 30 per cent cut in production in Europe. Corus blamed the general economic downturn for the cuts. Other companies are opting for reduced hours, three-day weeks and merged shifts to avoid compulsory redundancies. As the recession began to bite in the motor industry, the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, was under growing pressure last night to scrap the government's planned increase in road taxes for gas-guzzling cars in the forthcoming pre-budget report. Car manufacturers met Treasury minister Angela Eagle two weeks ago to plead for the ditching of the tax. Labour MPs, meanwhile, have lobbied Darling to scrap plans for new road tax bands hitting cars with higher emissions, including older models whose owners could not have known when they bought them that the cars would eventually attract such levies. They are arguing that climate-change concerns should come second to helping people through a recession. David Cameron faces mounting pressure from Tory party members to propose a package of tax cuts to help reflate the economy as fears grow that Gordon Brown is about to outflank him on the touchstone Conservative issue. A survey of 1,614 Tory party members for ConservativeHome, the activists' website, found that almost seven out of 10 wanted the party to call for cuts. The Tories will this week unveil their plans to prevent job losses, calling on the government to recruit thousands of retired businessmen who survived the last recession as volunteer mentors who could advise smaller firms on how to stay in busiFirms' shut-down for month hits pay
Thousands face loss of earnings at Christmas as recession forces industry to impose long break
Sunday, 9 November 2008
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