Many Britons to enter 2009 with no jobs

Thousands in the UK are to be left jobless as Aston Martin, Unilever and Halfords have announced major job cuts weeks before Christmas.   Luxury car maker, Aston Martin, plans to axe up to 600 jobs which would represent a third of its British workforce.   The company which planned to shutdown business from December 23 to January 5 during the Christmas holidays has extended the date to January 19.   The firm, has sold a record 7,300 cars during 2007, but expects to sell only 6,500 this year.  "Like other premium car brands, Aston Martin has been forced to take action to respond to the unprecedented downturn in the global economy," company CEO Ulrich Bez said on Tuesday.  Food and soap manufacturing multinational, Unilever, also said on Monday it was cutting 250 jobs worldwide.   The group which owns brands such as Marmite, Vaseline and Knorr and Dove, currently has a global workforce of 174,000 people.  Halfords will also slash 250 jobs as 200 workers will be fired from retail outlets and 50 at head office in Redditch, Worcestershire, representing 9 percent of its total workforce. The car accessories and bicycle chain has about 450 stores selling items such as spark plugs, car radios and bicycles in the UK. "The current economic downturn is heavily impacting upon the British retail market, and in order to create a platform for growth in this tough trading environment, we must review those activities within the business that can be carried out more effectively," the company said in a statement.  MT/RA Original source at PressTV