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Jobs lost as 'crunch' bites local businesses

Exclusive report by Rob Dawson
15/10/2008

MORE THAN 160 local jobs were lost in less than 24 hours as the global financial crisis hit Stockport.

Reddish-based Chemix Ltd, which manufacture raw materials for PVC windows, went into administration on Thursday morning......and hours later Bredbury printers, Buckleys, in Welkin Mill, were also forced into administration.

News of the Chemix collapse comes just four days after an incident at the company’s offices which left one employee fighting for his life, after he inhaled a poisonous substance.

It is thought that more than 160 workers and their families have been affected by the two closures, although the exact number of losses has yet to be confirmed by the administrators.

Buckleys employed more than 100 workers, while Chemix, based at Vauxhall Industrial Estate on Greg Street, is believed to have had around 60 staff.

It is the second time in less than a year that long-established Buckleys has entered administration. The firm, which is more than 100-years-old, was taken over by Tipografic Print Solutions in June after the company collapsed last October.

And it is believed they collapsed again after they lost an order from Mouth Foot Printing Artists to print cards and calendars.

According to shocked workers, some staff left in tears after they were sent home following a meeting on Friday.

John Seddon, 59, a machine minder at Buckleys, who had worked for the company for more than 40 years, said: "I can’t even explain the anger in the room when we were told we had lost our jobs. We thought our jobs had been saved when we were taken over in the summer but obviously they couldn’t turn it round in the time they had. It was not completely out of the blue because there had been a few redundancies in the last few months and some of us had even taken a pay cut to try to keep the doors open. A lot of the girls were in tears when they were told to go home. This was the only job they have ever known. Some of the younger lads had to go home and tell their wives they wouldn’t be getting paid. Everyone has been left heartbroken."

Another employee, who wanted to remain anonymous, added: "We were all broken-hearted. The workforce has done everything they could. My standard of living is on hold now. I’m not spending anything. I just can’t."

It is thought Chemix Ltd has kept on some staff as administrators Grant Thornton try to salvage parts of the business. Both Chemix managing director David Holt, and Grant Thornton declined to comment.

However one Chemix employee confirmed that staff had been told the company was "shutting down".

Another Chemix employee added: "We had no idea the company was in trouble. How is a worker meant to know that? The administrators came in on Thursday and we were told they had lost their jobs. That was it."

A spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses said he hoped the closures of Chemix and Buckleys was not a sign that more Stockport companies would soon be closing their doors.

He said: "It is very sad that two businesses in Stockport have been forced to close down. Small business provide 58 percent of the private sector workforce, and hopefully these are two isolated incidents and it is not replicated across Stockport and across the country. I would urge the banks and the local authority to do all they can to help."

News of the closures comes on the back of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s pledge earlier this month, to create a £12billion small business fund to help UK small businesses work through the current financial crisis.

For a two page in-depth report on the credit crunch in Stockport see this week's Stockport Express.