Member Article

Northern Rock staff gain more support

In the wake of this week’s announcement from Northern Rock about plans to drop 2000 staff by 2011, businesses in the region are starting to pledge their support.

Sarah Green, Regional Director of the Confederation of British Industries (CBI) North East, said: “This is a difficult and uncertain period for Northern Rock employees, but they can take reassurance from the wider business community that the local economy is in good shape, and that, with 20,000 job vacancies in the region, there is a huge demand for skilled people.

“For Northern Rock, this represents the first opportunity to communicate how they will reshape the business and ensure its viability. As a region, we need to rally to ensure both the Rock and its employees have the appropriate support to move forward.”

Another North East banking institution also offered their support for Northern Rock staff. Newcastle Building Society responded to the Rock’s statement by citing its own 20% workforce expansion in 2007, but also reinforced the comments made by other financial experts on the state of the North East economy.

Colin Seccombe, Chief Executive at Newcastle Building Society, says: “North East England is home to a highly skilled workforce in the financial services sector, and we support the ONE NorthEast-led employment task force to help find new jobs for as many former Northern Rock staff as possible. “We are currently actively recruiting for a wide range of roles that could present an opportunity to some Northern Rock staff that may choose to take up redundancy offers.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .