Job cuts ahead as car parts factory closes

Thousands more job losses were announced yesterday in a worsening week for employment, with grim predictions of more bad news in the pipeline.

More than 3,300 cuts were announced or confirmed, as Birmingham City Council said it is planning to shed up to 2,000 jobs; administrators of discount retailer Ethel Austin cut 469 jobs and launched closing-down sales at 129 stores; and the

German manufacturer Bosch confirmed the close of a car parts factory in Miskin, near Cardiff, employing 900 people.