The Government is to convene a summit next month to discuss the crisis facing manufacturing firms because of the global economic slowdown and the aftermath of the US terrorist attacks.

Business and trade union leaders will join ministers and officials from regional development agencies at the meeting.

The Government said the aim would be to ensure that Whitehall departments and regional development agencies were working effectively to support manufacturing.

The move was announced at the Labour Party conference in Brighton by Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt who said that thousands of manufacturing workers were losing their jobs even before the September 11 outrage.

She acknowledged there was "real pain" in manufacturing with jobs being cut at established firms such as Motorola, Marconi, Viasystems and Shorts.

Workers with up to 30 years of skill and experience were "gutted to find themselves thrown out of work," she said.

"Of course people are anxious and scared that their job will be next to go."

The Minister said the Government was looking at what it could do to help manufacturers and said she was determined to strengthen regional development agencies and give them more money.

She also gave a strong endorsement that the UK should join the single currency providing economic conditions were met, arguing that manufacturing jobs were particularly vulnerable to the exchange rate.

Unions welcomed the manufacturing summit and said urgent action was needed to avoid tens of thousands of fresh job losses over the next few months.