MG Rover

On 8 April 2005, MG Rover announced that it would be taken into administration. A week later, the Longbridge plant had ceased production with the immediate loss of 5,300 jobs. A further 800 would be lost in the following months as the plant was mothballed and the company broken up. Eleven companies in the Rover supply chain would close.

The closure of MG Rover ended 100 years of car production at Longbridge. As a single redundancy from one site, it was the largest that the UK had seen for a generation. And it had the potential to be devastating for the local community and the West Midlands.

Every large-scale redundancy is different. But it is worth emphasising just how different MG Rover was and why a huge partnership exercise was needed to address the issues raised.

• First, its sheer scale – it increased unemployment in the most affected Jobcentre Plus District (Birmingham and Solihull) by nearly 50%

• Second, its speed – unlike most large redundancies, over 80% of the redundancies were made within a week of being announced, partners had very little time to mobilise a response.

• Third, its impact – most MG Rover workers received no redundancy pay or payment in lieu of notice (at least initially), which is very unusual, and so were immediately dependent on Government support.

In response to this situation, the LSC worked with partners to develop a training/employment support package. Through this package, each individual would receive information, advice and guidance, individual action plan development, training, legislative certification where appropriate and help in finding employment. Various supplementary support was provided where an individual need was identified, this including support with CV writing, interview techniques and business “start up” training.