`2,000 jobs will go in UK motors firms`

More than 2,000 jobs will be lost in the UK electric motors business in the coming year, according to a new report*. A survey of 484 companies by Plimsoll Publishing suggests that 72% of the firms will shed jobs and that in one large company, more than 750 jobs will go.

Plimsoll says that the reasons for the losses can be traced back long before the economic uncertainties of recent months. But, according to the company`s senior analyst, David Pattison, "there is little doubt that managers will use the current economic and market conditions to make decisions that, frankly, they should have made 18 months ago".

The survey reveals that last year, pay rates in the sector increased by an average of 6%, while sales rose by just 3%. A third of the surveyed companies are making losses and the study suggests that at least 45 companies are in "serious financial distress".

It predicts that salaries will rise a further 4.9% in the coming year, from an average of £22,564 to £23,667. Yet, according to Plimsoll`s analysis, 47% of the companies surveyed cannot afford to pay these increases.

Plimsoll`s figures are based on an analysis of Companies House figures and projections from past performance. Not all of the companies surveyed have motors as their primary business.

* Plimsoll Portfolio Analysis: Electric Motors. £325. Details on (+44) 01642 257800.