More jobs could go in Lanarkshire

Staff at the Cumbernauld centre were told of the closure on Wednesday

Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce has warned more jobs could go in the region following the loss of up to 900 posts in Cumbernauld.

Its chief executive, Douglas Miller, blamed the UK economic downturn for the closure of the Goldfish Credit Card business centre in North Lanarkshire.

Staff at the firm, which is owned by Barclays, were informed on Wednesday.

Mr Miller said more posts could go in the area in the coming months as companies "tightened their belts".

Barclays said it had started a consultation with staff about the closure of the call centre and would make efforts to relocate them or identify other jobs.

The Cumbernauld closure is the latest in a series of job blows for the Lanarkshire area since the beginning of March.

In April, the electronics firm JVC announced it was closing its factory in East Kilbride with the loss of 300 jobs.

The haulage and distribution company, Ramage, went into administration with the loss of 350 jobs nationwide, 136 of which were at its Glespin headquarters.

Businesses are no different than anybody else. Householders are tightening their belts and it's exactly the same. Douglas Miller

Also in March, the contractor, Carillion Business Services, said was looking to close its Tannochside operation with the loss of about 600 jobs. This followed the loss of 27 posts at Hewden Tools in Uddingston earlier that month.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr Miller said the Goldfish announcement was a "major blow" for Lanarkshire.

He said: "The Scottish Chambers of Commerce quarterly business survey that came out for the first quarter predicted that businesses were in trouble, and I think we are going to see some more job losses as we move forward.

"Businesses are no different than anybody else. Householders are tightening their belts and it's exactly the same. Businesses are having to prepare for the future.

'Going forward'

"What I don't want to see is businesses packing up and going abroad, we've got to make sure that businesses stay here in Scotland."

But Mr Miller was keen to point out that some businesses were doing well.

"I think there are some positive signs out there. I go round talking to lots of businesses and I see businesses like Philips Lighting in Hamilton winning business from Europe and bringing it back here to Scotland.

"So manufacturing isn't dying, it's going forward and there are some other examples like that."

A spokeswoman from Scottish Enterprise said there were tough times ahead but it was working hard to promote the area, as well as the rest of Scotland.

She said: "There are challenges in the global economy and it is better to be prepared. But there are lots of positives out there too."