200 more high-skill jobs to go; RECESSION STILL HITTING FIRMS.

Byline: ADRIAN PEARSON

SOME of Tyneside's most skilled workers could be lost as warnings come of more redundancies.

Workers in Newcastle's Wellstream factory have been told 200 jobs will go early next year as the economic downturn continues to affect North jobs.

Wellstream, one of the country's most successful oil and gas suppliers, is the latest firm to announce job losses on Tyneside, with BAE Systems losing 200 defence manufacturing posts last month.

Experts say new jobs are coming to the Tyne but these are years away and union bosses say they expect more companies to announce job losses before the recession is over.

Today regional minister Nick Brown, in whose constituency the Wellstream factory is based, said the workforce was the victim of market forces beyond their control.

He said: "No-one is to blame for this.

"The workers there are highly skilled and Wellstream is a great company to work for.

"The problem is that the economic recovery has not hit the offshore sector yet, and as such, even though they can see the potential for growth it has not come yet."

Mr Brown, MP for Newcastle East and Wallsend, said he had been in contact with bosses at Wellstream to see what can be done to help them remain on Tyneside ahead of the expected economic recovery.

The MP is working with others on Tyneside as part of taskforce set up to help those made redundant find work.

He said: "We will be doing all we can to help those who are displaced and make sure that they are given the best chance of benefitting from new jobs coming to the Tyne."

Micky Blench, GMB union organiser, said staff had accepted they were caught up in the problems hitting the offshore industry world-wide. He said: "These are highly skilled workers we are losing here.

"We think maybe by the end of 2010, if things pick up, we could be seeing some of these workers taken back on, but it is still terrible news.

"The decision couldn't have come at a worst time. It is very difficult to find work now, especially with other skilled workers being laid off elsewhere.

"Hopefully, it is a short term measure but we have seen these sorts of decisions at other sites in Tyneside, in the offshore industry, and we know it is difficult everywhere right now."

Last night workers were reeling from the news.

One employee who asked not to be named said: "They told us all in the morning.

"I have only been here two months, I was laid off from my last place because of redundancies. Now the same thing is happening again.

"They haven't said who is going yet. The managers are just doing their thing. It's a big blow."

CAPTION(S):

STRUGGLE: The Wellstream Factory, in Newcastle, one of the UK's most successful oil and gas suppliers, is the latest Tyneside firm to shed jobs