THE jobs crisis enveloping the manufacturing sector was highlighted by research showing a manufacturing job was lost every two minutes of the working day last year.
More than 73,000 jobs were axed across the UK in 2003, more than in the previous year, according to a survey conducted for the GMB union. Scotland was the hardest-hit region, with 52 firms cutting thousands of jobs over the year, according to research for the GMB union.
The report stated that the North-East lost 3,556 jobs while Yorkshire and Humberside was hit by 5,407 lost posts.
Kevin Curran, general secretary of the GMB, said: "UK manufacturing is in crisis as the outsourcing phenomenon continues to drain jobs and livelihoods from our heartlands.
"We cannot continue to hold our hands up as jobs leave our shores for Europe and Asia. We have the skills, capacity and experience in the UK to keep these jobs.
"All we need is the determination from chief executives and the Government to ensure that our manufacturing sector can thrive. Without that, manufacturing will continue to crumble and weaken the entire UK economy."
Thousands of jobs were lost because production was switched from the UK to countries with cheaper labour costs, including China, Thailand and Hungary, said the report.
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that the number of manufacturing jobs in the UK has fallen to a record low of 3.4 million.
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