The South West’s manufacturing sector is growing more positive about recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, but nearly a third expect to make further cuts to their workforce in the coming months, a new report has revealed.
The Manufacturing Barometer, which is conducted by the South West Manufacturing Advisory Service and the Manufacturing Growth Programme, found increased optimism around turnover, profits, jobs and investment.
However, 32 per cent of firms said they expected to make more employees redundant within the next six months.
Some 80 per cent of manufacturers have used the Government’s furlough scheme to retain staff, but more than a quarter have already been forced to make job cuts.
Almost three quarters of firms (70 per cent) saw sales drop in the past six months, and 42 per cent are still predicting sales to decrease between now and the end of the year.
More encouragingly though, 44 per cent of those questioned are expecting future sales to increase – up from 10 per cent in April.
Some 41 per cent describe their current status as “static or growing”, with some businesses reporting very little change since the crisis, and others experiencing an increase in product demand.
However, others have seen their customer base almost vanish overnight, with 58 per cent of respondents describing their business’ current status as “surviving” or “recovering”.
Nick Golding, managing director at SWMAS, said: “The survey shows a picture of resilience and innovation from a sector that is doing its best to survive the Covid-19 crisis, but more still needs to be done to get it back on its feet."
The report is the largest survey of SME manufacturers in England and received responses from more than 100 firms in the region.
