ISME concerned by redundancies hike

ISME has expressed concern at the increase in redundancies for the first quarter of 2006, up 36% on the corresponding period last year.

ISME chief executive Mark Fielding said the dramatic increase confirms that a significant number of companies continue to experience competitive pressures resulting in downsizing and, in a growing number of cases, company closures.

Since January, 5,902 redundancies have been reported. Of these 1,735 jobs have been in the manufacturing sector.