Research

Retooled has been inspired by research on the Economic and Social Impact of the
MG Rover closures, led by Dr Caroline Chapain at the University of Birmingham and Prof. David Bailey at the University of Coventry, with The Work Foundation.

Involuntary redundancy can constitute an important shock in people’s lives and each individual tends to deal with this shock in specific ways and at different paces.
This is particularly the case when people have been working for a company for a
long time.

Taking this into account, the research highlights a gap in the provision of emotional support for individuals facing redundancy, and that this emotional support may be as important as practical help such as re-skilling or training packages.

The research also shed some light on the redundancy process in the current economy with some positive messages:

• The majority of people did get back into work relatively quickly after the closure. This was made easier by the vibrancy of the labour market in Birmingham at the time.

• The great majority of workers found their new job through friends, family or ex-colleagues ‚Äì which highlights the importance of personal networks.

• Finding another job was however more difficult for workers who were older or had lower levels of education.

• Most workers found their new job outside of the manufacturing sector.

• On average their new jobs were paid ¬£5,000 less per year than at MG Rover. This is partly explained by the good conditions they had at MG Rover.

• Overall, the majority of workers who had found a new job were happy with it and had adjusted to their new situation in 2008 (three years after the closure).

Some, however, had to retrain or change jobs a couple of time due to economic circumstances or to find something that suits them better.

Dr Caroline Chapain told us: “What I really enjoyed and what was illuminating from
the research was talking to the workers because then you understand that each
individual is dealing with the closure in such different ways. Some have very positive stories but others have very negative ones. I think it is important to tell those stories so other people who may have to face the same challenge can benefit from them.”

You can see more on the research here.