Mr Hague is chief executive of PP Control & Automation (Image: PP Control & Automation)
Business leaders have hit back at Rachel Reeves’s claim she is “fixing the foundations of the economy”, saying “talk is cheap”.
After months of turmoil triggered by Labour’s tax-grabbing Budget the Chancellor said the conditions for growth and investment were being created.
But those toiling at the coalface of Britain’s lifeblood industries remain unconvinced, with April set to be D-Day for many.
The bulk of Ms Reeves’s massive tax increases will have to be shouldered by struggling businesses who are bracing themselves for a £25bn employer National Insurance contributions hit while scrambling to find cash for National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage increases.
It has led many to fear mass closures, job cuts and the possibility of a full-blown recession despite the Chancellor claiming the Government had “begun to turn things around”.
PP Control & Automation, one of the UK’s leading strategic manufacturing outsourcing specialists, employs 200 people at its state-of-the-art factory in the West Midlands.
Boss Tony Hague said: “It feels like Rachel Reeves and her team have finally woken up to the fact that talking down the economy is not the best driver of growth.
“However, as with any strategy and political speeches, they can communicate all the right signals, but the question remains on how the grand ideas will actually be delivered. Talk is cheap. Let’s keep an eye on the execution.”
Steve Morley is President of the Confederation of British Metalforming (Image: Russ Cockburn)
More than half of business financial chiefs surveyed by analysts Deloitte said slashing costs was a priority after the Budget.
The poll showed hiring intentions in the final three months of last year fell at the fastest pace since early 2020, while a net 58% of firms expect to cut discretionary spending.
Employment is falling at its fastest rate since the financial crisis in 2008 leading some to predict Doomsday for the economy as firms grapple with high operational expenses and widespread skills shortages.
Mr Hague said: “Automating repetitive, high-labour tasks can lead to substantial savings, including NICs, wages, and training investments, while also freeing up team members to take on higher value tasks.
“Machines also offer consistent performance with minimal error, contributing to higher product quality and fewer costs associated with rework or quality control. You can also easily manage fluctuations in demand, whether that is scaling up or scaling down.”
The company, operating from the West Midlands, the industrial heartbeat of Britain, is a leading manufacturing specialist building machines that robotically milk cows, provide packaging solutions, and cut parts used in F1 cars and airlines.
It has been deluged with inquiries from companies operating in the clean energy, agritech, and warehouse automation wanting to learn how to cut fixed costs.
Steve Morley, President of the Confederation of British Metalforming, said: “Former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson famously coined the phrase ‘a week is a long time in politics’. Well I think we can now say that a day is a long time in politics.
“All of the optimism following the election, and the promise of an Industrial Strategy, has been wiped away with the ill-thought-out Budget.
“The tax hikes forced on businesses could have a devastating impact on [small and medium-sized enterprises], who are still grappling with the impact of inflation and energy prices far higher than their European counterparts.
“This additional burden – estimated to cost our members tens of millions of pounds – is another whammy to an already under siege sector.”