Staff fury over Wheel of Manchester job losses

STAFF at the doomed Wheel of Manchester spoke of their anger after bosses revealed 20 jobs would be axed.

A decision has been made to remove the tourist attraction to make way for Olympic events this summer.

A spokesperson for Manchester City Council claims the wheel ‘is and always was a temporary feature in the city centre’ but one worker, who asked not to be identified, blasted the decision to dismantle it: “They’re not taking down the London Eye, why should they take this wheel down?

"People are saying they are creating jobs by the Olympics coming here but in fact we’ll be losing jobs because of it. It’s not good for us.

“Obviously we want the wheel to stay. This is our livelihood. We’d prefer the wheel to stay and I know a lot of people in Manchester agree.”

John Lowery, Operations Manager for Great City Attractions, which owns the wheel and others around the country, confirmed 20 full and part-time staff will be made redundant.

It will cost £80,000 to dismantle and remove the wheel that is set to close at 6pm on April 15.

The decision may also have a knock-on effect for fuel, cleaning and security firms.

An employee of a nearby coffee shop, who also asked not to be named, said she thought the wheel's removal would reduce takings. She added that the Olympic events would not bring in the same amount of custom.

Councillor Pat Karney said the attraction had become a well known feature on the city’s skyline since the first one arrived in 2004.

He added: “Exchange Square will host some very special events in the coming months."

By Helga Björgúlfsdóttir and Alison Carter