Soho redundancy threat

The post production and new media sectors are threatened by redundancies.

Hundreds of jobs in dozens of smaller companies are threatened - Soho in London bears the brunt with jobs going in VideoLondon, Rushes, Soho 601, SVC and M2.

Camden-based post production facility Red Pepper has been forced into liquidation by a combination of factors which threaten all small-scale businesses.

Belt-tightening by broadcasters and the resulting drop in turnover means that any passing stroke of bad luck becomes a catastrophe for such companies.

It is not just the smaller companies who are shedding staff - 4MC, part of Liberty Media, have started implementing redundancies.

As BECTU provides advice to redundant and anxious workers many fear this is the beginning of a deeper downturn in the industry.

The decline in dot com stock is part of the picture. The knock-on from industry troubles in the US another. Collapsing commercials revenues and the traditional summertime slump are all factors.

But the big picture is the essentially cyclical character of economic activity.

BECTU is carrying special all-day surgeries at the union's Soho centre at 111 Wardour Street with private advice on redundancy rights from union officials.

For details of the surgeries contact BECTU Head Office.