OFFICERS of the Engineering Employers' Federation are contacting North-west members to assess the immediate and long-term effects of the American terrorist outrage.
The EEF is aware that the picture was already gloomy before the attacks on New York and Washington. The latest survey of 134 North-west members, completed in August, produced results which were mostly all negative compared with the previous quarter. The trend towards increased job losses over the first half of 2001 intensified -- a third of the companies sampled indicated that they had cut back their workforce.
Also, figures for volume of output and new orders were down 15 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.
Expected margins in both export and domestic markets remained negative on balance but showed some signs of stabilisation. Mr Andrew Semple, External Affairs Manager for the EEF in the North-west, said: "These figures back up what are members in the region are telling us daily -- business is tough and getting tougher." Members wanted to see a strategic approach from Government to tackle the problems in manufacturing.
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