Britain’s manufacturing sector has shrunk in the past decade by almost 600,000 jobs to leave fewer than 3 million workers employed in the sector.
A study by the GMB union found that every region in the UK has suffered a decline in manufacturing employment over 10 years, with London, Scotland and the north-west the worst affected.
In 2007, the UK supported 3.5m permanent and temporary manufacturing jobs – more than 12% of the all British employment – but by 2016 that had slumped to 2.9m , or 9.2% of the total, the union said.
Jude Brimble, GMB national officer, said: “We are at a critical crossroads in UK manufacturing.
“The right support for our manufacturing sector would accelerate growth, address the skills gap and provide much provide a much-needed boost to technology, production and exports.
“A robust manufacturing base post-Brexit is vital for the UK economy, workers and local communities.”
The UK’s largest carmaker, Jaguar Land Rover, has yet to make a commitment to building its next-generation electric cars in the UK after it demanded the government agree to fund £450m of infrastructure in the West Midlands before it made a decision.
In April the company, owned by India’s Tata Group, said it would cut more than 1,000 jobs, blaming a slump in car sales due to uncertainty about Brexit and the future of diesel vehicles.
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