Defence giant BAE Systems is to reduce its workforce and close one of its sites in Woodford, Cheshire. However the job losses will also affect a number of its other sites. The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU) described the news as “bitterly disappointing”. The union’s general secretary, Hugh Scullion, said: “The CSEU will [...]
Cattles, which has already axed 1,000 jobs this year, is proposing to cut a further 510 jobs at its Welcome Financial Services subsidiary. The struggling sub-prime lender, which is battling to stay afloat, is seeking ways to slash costs and as leases on its premises expire, several Welcome Financial Services branches could close. In a [...]
Lloyds Banking Group is considering more job losses as the bank plans to close more than 300 “agency” counters run by its Halifax subsidiary in the offices of estate agents, solicitors or financial advisers. Agency counters are not Halifax branches and their staff are employed by the agent as part of their wider business and [...]
Free evening newspaper, The London Paper, is facing closure after its owner, News International, commenced a 30-day consultation with its 60 staff following the paper’s pre-tax loss of £12.9 million in the 12 months to the end of June 2008. The paper, which was established in September 2006, had a circulation of more than half [...]
It has been announced that banking giant Lloyds Banking Group is reviewing its decision to close down its Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G) subsidiary. In June, the mega-bank said it was closing all of its 160 UK C&G branches with the loss of hundreds of jobs but the decision may now be reversed. The u-turn has [...]
Allied Carpets, the flooring specialist, has been forced to close 142 of its stores and axe 850 jobs. The struggling retailer was placed into administration last month as the property market crash and economic downturn meant fewer people are buying carpets and flooring. It is the second largest carpet retailer in the UK, behind Carpetright. [...]
Barclays’ staff are set to vote on whether to strike over the closure of its final-salary pension scheme. The Unite union said the ballot will take place in August with potential industrial action taking place across the bank in September, which will “significantly impact” the bank’s operations. The decision to close its final-salary pension scheme [...]
IBM, the computer giant, is considering closing its final-salary pension scheme to current members, affecting over 25% of IBM’s 20,000 UK workforce. An e-mail to staff from IBM’s UK and Ireland general manager Brendon Riley, said the pension fund was being re-evaluated because of rapidly-rising costs and liabilities. The e-mail said: “For IBM UK also, [...]
It emerged earlier today that Vauxhall’s UK plants were at risk of closure after struggling US car maker General Motors (GM) moved to sell off its European arm, which includes Vauxhall and Germany’s Opel. However, Business Secretary, Lord Peter Mandelson, has told Sky News that “there is no danger of Vauxhall’s UK plants closing”. However, [...]
Steel producer Corus may cut 2,000 jobs at its Teesside Cast Products plant after four international slab buyers, Marcegaglia, Dongkuk Steel Mills, Duferco Participations Holding and Alvory, have terminated a 10-year supply contract. As their main customers, the consortium have failed to fulfil their part of the contract which has been signed for ten years [...]
The UK’s largest engineering company, BAE Systems, is to shut three factories in Telford, Leeds and Guildford by Christmas and is to axe 500 jobs. The announcement is primarily due to the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq and the axe will be wielded in the combat vehicles and weapons division. Today’s announcement follows the [...]
Troubled buy-to-let mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley (B&B) has announced its mortgage processing centre in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, is be closed with the loss of 370 jobs. The processing centre is to close in the first quarter of 2009. B&B, which is the UK’s biggest buy-to-let lender, blamed the continuing downturn in the market for mortgages. [...]
Records show that debt enquiries have hit record highs recently as higher mortgage repayments and rising utility bills means that households are struggling. This has resulted in the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) being inundated with queries. However, one of the CAB’s busiest branches is being forced to close. The branch in Hull, which has renegotiated [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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