The A to Z of rumours

Here is today's story about the closure of AstraZeneca in Loughborough (click on link below);

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/AstraZeneca-closure-single-biggest-jobs-loss-Leicestershire-20-years/article-1880653-detail/article.html

This was something I'd heard rumours about for months, even before AstraZeneca's announcement in January of a major worldwide shake-up which will see the loss of 8,000 jobs over the next four years.

However, I did not actually expect it to happen, and neither too did most of the 1,200 staff and Leicestershire's business and political leaders. Many of the senior business figures I spoke to yesterday morning, before the news was officially released, were left speechless or thought I was over-exaggerating.

As a Loughborough resident it was genuinely upsetting to hear such a major name and employer turn its back on the town. But the full devastating impact of what I knew was a massive story didn't actually dawn on me for several hours as I was too wrapped up ringing around for reaction and comment.

It will be some time before the economic consequences are known and felt. The staff are high wage earners and two-thirds live in Charnwood borough, so it is likely there will be a significant impact on the area. Hopefully, this can be mitigated by some kind of intervention by an election-conscious Government. However, the real work will be done after the May poll when the new Government will have a variety of new priorities on its agenda.

What worries me is what will become of the 69-acre site. There are rumours AstraZeneca is considering razing the whole thing to the ground at the cost of a couple of million of pounds, thus escaping the several millions they would need to pay annually in empty property tax. The speculation is that this land would then be turned into a housing estate.

It may be rumour at this stage, but we know what rumour can become.