Rover workers: We will not be crushed

Jun 21 2005 By Jon Griffin, Business Editor, Evening Mail

THE West Midlands is fighting back hard from the "unprecedented" loss of many thousands of jobs following the collapse of MG Rover, Tony Blair was told today.

The MG Rover Task Force told the Prime Minister at a Downing Street briefing that nearly a quarter of the Longbridge workers made redundant in April had found work.

Chairman of the Task Force and Advantage West Midlands Nick Paul said: "The events of April 15 were unprecedented.

"Job losses on this scale have happened before but I can't remember a time when an announcement of this scale happened so suddenly.

"The West Midlands region had to come to terms with the massive fallout from MG Rover's closure with 6,000 jobs lost overnight.

"But the West Midlands is fighting back. Former MG Rover workers have refused to lie down and the resilience they have shown, together with the skills they have to offer, mean that nearly a quarter of them are now back in work.

"And thousands more have either started training or will do so in the next few weeks.

"Jobcentre Plus and the Learning and Skills Council have pulled out all the stops to help former workers access job vacancies and get the training they need," he added.

Mr Paul said many supply chain companies who had been "stretched to the limit" by the collapse of Longbridge had refused to buckle.

"MG Rover's collapse has left them with unpaid bills, major cashflow problems, and staff whose jobs were reliant on MG Rover. Many are working round the clock to keep staff on, find new markets and build for the future with the support of the team at Birmingham Chamber and Business Link who have given £3 million in emergency grants to 156 companies to safeguard - at least in the short term - nearly 3,000 jobs."