When I was a kid, my mam worked for GEC and the chicken factory amongst others, my nana worked for expanded metal

I know GEC employed loads, but who were the other 'biggies' in the town???

And who is the biggest now?, Garlands sweatshop?

Steetley Magnasite/Quarry Products employed hundreds too at one point.

british steel when I was a lad.....20,000 at one time?

richardsons and westgarth had a few men
not saying they all worked but were on the pay roll

James Grahams never had quantity but it had quality.

how about the prop fields then they were all over the town at one time
seaton central and where asda is now

What a journey. what a laugh. what a day off.

#

It's a lot - I think it stands at just under 2000 tho'

the council or nhs must employ a few more.

Ceraboss or however you spell it must have had a fair few working for them back in the day

Council.... deffo.

NHS - approx 4,500 (and falling fast)
Council approx 4,500 (including teachers)
Garlands approx 1,800 (largest private employer)

The way things are going, the NHS figure will be down there just below Oxford Road fish shop in the numbers employed stakes.

Grays shipbuilders was a huge employer. The Dock authority was a huge employer. Richie's was a huge employer. And all three used to clock off at more or less the same time.
The top of Middleton Road, on the docks side of the crossing with Lancaster Road, was a continuous mass of gadgies on their bikes four or five abreast in a procession that lasted a good 1/4 hour.

In the area as a whole (by which I mean within your average Hartlepool manual worker's commuting distance), ICI Billingham prolly took the record for employees in a single factory. I think the 20K SDSI employees might have been split between N & S works and possibly Cargo Fleet and Stockton Malleable too. And compared with Dorman Long SDSI were small fry. DL had the central Middlesbrough site (Britannia works?), the South Bank-Grangetown complex, Lackenby, Warrenby, a load of foundries and stuff in Bowesfield lane, and Cleveland Bridge and Engineering. Teesside-Hartlepool was easily the biggest Iron and Steel centre in the country, with the other two biggies being Port Talbot and Scunthorpe.

the number of people from Hartlepool employed by ICI across Billingham, North Tees and Wilton in its heyday would have ran into thousands

laings had a few in its heyday foster wheelers the port authority had a fair few in the sixties seventies when the coal staithes were still there

TMD Friction must be up there too, down Oakesway. Maybe SCA Packaging too?

The public sector must cover the largest percentages though, One North East's trying to bring private sector stuff up here, even if Fujitsu, Samsung etc all fail anyway

A lot of manufacturing jobs are going out to Eastern Europe because of cheaper labour costs, so that eventually we'll be a nation of hairdressers, burger flippers and outreach co-ordinators.

The worlds biggest employers in terms of staff....

Walmart - 2.4 million

Chinese Army - 2.3 million

Indian State Railways - 1.5 million

NHS - 1.4

Have you seen the Mail tonight with that bloke from the town gobbing off that he'll bring 10000 jobs to the area! How many factory units are standing empty in the town? Dozens. But let's just 'develop' prime countryside, get massive grants, promise the earth, maybe get a coulpe of hundred jobs for high tech people from out of the area and then sell up in a few years time when the 'dream' has not been realised.
Remember all the hype over Samsung. How many jobs? How long did it last? Just like the ghost ship fiasco, this will be of absolutely no benefit to the town. All it will do is concrete over some more of the countryside between here and Sedgfield

Chris Musgrave, one time owner of Blondes and now owner or part owner of a shopfitting firm called JCM based at the old samsung site in cowpen bewley.

Dont know his form nowdays but sounds dodgy to me