International engineering firm GKN has announced cut backs in its Hampstead, Walsall and Telford operations.

A spokesperson for the company told Recruiter the redundancies would not affect temporary or contract staff:

“The contract staff, numbering 2,000 worldwide, left at the end of last year.” No figures were available were available regarding the number of UK contractors affected.

Nigel Stein, GKN Automotive’s chief executive, says: “The actions being announced today are regrettable but absolutely necessary to respond to the global economic downturn that is particularly affecting the automotive industry.”