LABOR-MARKET EXPERIENCES FOLLOWING PLANT CLOSURE - THE CASE OF SUNDERLANDS SHIPYARD WORKERS

This paper uses a comprehensive database, surveys and interviews to examine the labour market experiences of shipyard workers following the closure of British Shipbuilders (BS) yards in Sunderland from late 1988. Sunderland Enterprise and Training Limited, a subsidiary of BS, had the specific remit of helping to redeploy these workers. However, structural and spatial changes in the pattern of manufacturing made the acquisition of alternative employment difficult. Spatial search therefore increased, encouraged by re-training. However, over time, distance became a barrier to employment stability in these new work locations. This paper therefore raises issues for policymakers concerning those factors associated with travel-to-work distances including the migration option and the paucity of local employment generation. A particular feature of this paper is the use of ex post measures of employment stability.