Business confidence rises despite redundancies

While over half (53 per cent) of London businesses have been forced to make redundancies as a result of the recession, confidence appears to be returning to the sector, new research has revealed.

According to the survey carried out by the Confederation of Business Industry and KPMG, companies in the capital are now the most optimistic they have been in 18 months, although many still remain cautious about what the next six months will bring.

Furthermore, 30 per cent are planning to cut back on recruitment and training.

However, more businesses are committed to working with their staff to avoid redundancies, with proposals including only recruiting when essential (63 per cent), cutting the cost of expenses with HR policies (37 per cent) and freezing hiring altogether (26 per cent).

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Richard Reid, London chairman of KPMG, said: “While it is encouraging to see London’s businesses feeling more confident, it is important that the lessons learned over the last two years are kept at a high priority for all companies.”

A survey by SimplyWired.co.uk recently revealed that 69 per cent of UK employees would accept a pay cut in order to avoid redundancy.