BUSINESS leaders have called on Chancellor Alistair Darling to deliver a budget for jobs tomorrow – as another North-East firm fell victim to the economic downturn.

Metal fabrication company Evenwood Industries, which until recently employed more than 100 people, has gone into administration.

The company, based at Evenwood, near West Auckland, County Durham, made 40 people redundant at the end of last year – and yesterday half the remaining workforce were laid off.

But 37 workers are still employed at the plant and administrators last night expressed hope it could be sold as a going concern.

Despite the latest employment blow, Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman, who represents Evenwood, said the Chancellor was “very conscious”

of the need to support new jobs, and added “our region will not miss out.”

The North-East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) called on the Chancellor to deliver a “budget for jobs”.

Ms Goodman said: “I think, in putting his budget together, the Chancellor is very conscious of the need to support new industries and jobs – and our region will not miss out.”

She expressed her sympathies to the workers who had lost their jobs at Evenwood Industries.

Ms Goodman said: “This is a very sad day for everybody who works at Evenwood Industries, and I am very sorry to hear this news. They have clearly been hit by the global recession and I hope people will get the support they need to find other jobs.”

The firm supplies parts for the construction industry, and the downturn in that sector has had a knock-on effect.

One former worker at the company said: “Everybody has been expecting it, we knew it was coming.

“It is just very sad because people have lost their jobs, and some will probably lose their houses because they can’t pay their mortgages.”

Stephen Thompkins, of the GMB union, which represents workers at the plant, said: “From a trade union point of view, we will be looking to see if there are any orders, to see if it can remain as a going concern.

“If not, it is our priority to make sure all the members get everything they are entitled to.”

He added: “We know a lot of people working there are from Evenwood or a couple of miles around.

“It is the biggest employer in that respect and it is going to be a big blow for them.”

Stewart Watkins, managing director of the County Durham Development Company (CDDC), the business support arm of Durham County Council, said: “The sector that Evenwood Industries supplies has experienced torrid times as construction has slowed globally.

“CDDC will help the company where it can as well as offering support where necessary to its staff.”

Formerly known as Evenwood Engineering, the firm was rescued in a management buyout by directors Stewart Maudsley and Duncan McDonald in April 2006, after its parent company, the Eliza Tinsley Group, went into administration in January of that year.

Yesterday’s news could not have come at a worse time for workers who have lost their jobs. Unemployment surged over the two million mark last month and official figures tomorrow are likely to show another big rise, with experts predicting the total will pass three million next year.

Last night, NECC spokesman Mike Parker said: “It has to be a Budget that really addresses growth, a budget for jobs. The Chancellor has to put a shot in the arm of the economy.”

The TUC will today call on the Government to inject £2bn into new work schemes in areas including Teesside and Newcastle. It said 100,000 paid work experience jobs could be created.

General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “In previous recessions, well-qualified workers who have lost their jobs have tended to find work again quite quickly. However, younger workers and lowskilled employees who have been unemployed for a long time can find their opportunities squeezed even more during a recession.”