YORKSHIRE firms are almost twice as likely to encourage voluntary redundancies and outsource loss-making services during the next 12 months compared to two years ago, according to a report.
The survey of more than 320 business bosses by national law firm Irwin Mitchell also found that 37% of companies had made compulsory redundancies in the last year while 58% also reported using a range of alternative cost-saving techniques.
Seven out of 10 firms in the region said they were “less confident” or expect “no improvement” in the UK economy in 2012.
Some 24% were under immediate pressure to reduce staffing numbers in the next year – with 13% “quite likely” or “very likely” to make compulsory redundancies.
Among those businesses planning to reduce employee costs over the next 12 months, 56% said that they would introduce a voluntary redundancy programme. This compares to 32% of companies who did the same during the last two years. There was also a rise from 12% to 22% in the proportion of businesses preparing to outsource their loss-making services.
Yorkshire firms were more likely than they were 12 months ago to axe benefits such as bonuses, freeze pay rises, cut director pay and benefits and reduce salaries over the coming year.
