One of South Tyrone’s most prominent business leaders has warned that changes introduced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget will cost his manufacturing firm nearly £400,000 annually.

Darragh Cullen, Chief Executive Officer of Edge Innovate, told The Impartial Reporter that the combination of increased National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and a lowered threshold for employer contributions will hit his company’s finances to the tune of £380,000.

“These are raw financial figures,” said Mr. Cullen. “The increases to National Insurance Contributions, along with the lowering of the threshold for NICs, will amount to a staggering £380K.”

The measures, due to take effect from 6 April, also include a rise in the National Living Wage for workers aged over 21 — part of a package that local manufacturers warn could have a crippling impact on business in South Tyrone.

Employers’ NICs will increase from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent, while the earnings level at which employers begin paying NICs will drop from £9,100 to £5,000.

Mr. Cullen said: “The business community continues to be disappointed with the policies of the new Labour government and looks forward to the day that those policies are reconsidered.”

“We can clearly see that the direction of travel for this government is to increase taxes, particularly on businesses and, for us to survive, we need to increase our competitiveness and our level of productivity so we can compete more effectively in the international market.”

Edge Innovate, which employs 170 people, is not expected to cut jobs in the face of the increased costs.

“Thankfully, it won’t lead to job losses at our company and, because our employees are paid above minimum wage, the increase in minimum wage won’t have a lot of impact on our business,” Mr. Cullen said. “But the focus of the business is now on increasing productivity and lean manufacturing.”

Manufacturing is a cornerstone of the economy in Dungannon and Mid Ulster, where 40 per cent of the world’s crushing and screening equipment is produced. The area has drawn significant global investment, thanks to a strong reputation for engineering excellence — with the United States remaining the industry’s largest export market.

However, recent years have seen demand slump by 30 per cent to 50 per cent, largely due to global instability, including wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as uncertainty surrounding the US presidency.

Many engineering firms in the region had already been forced to tighten operations, shorten working weeks, and scale back production to manage surplus inventory.

Mr. Cullen noted that demand began to recover following clarity around the US presidential election:

“It has cleared up the uncertainty as to who was going to be the next American President which has led to some level of confidence,” he said. “But, since that, there have been concerns about the economic policies of the new administration. Every day you get up, you don’t know what is going to happen. We are fully behind the UK government’s work in making economic deals with the United States.”

Closer to home, Mr. Cullen said the policies set out by Chancellor Rachel Reeves will add substantial pressure to local firms already operating in challenging conditions.

Mr. Cullen, who also chairs the Mid Ulster industry collaboration MEGA (Manufacturing and Engineering Growth and Advancement), stressed the importance of partnership and policy reform.

“MEGA is an example of businesses coming together for the common good, looking at how to improve the economy as a whole,” he said. “Businesses fully understand that taxes need to be paid and we understand that we have to make a contribution to how government can raise spending money for the NHS, Education and Infrastructure — but we are extremely concerned about the policy pathway that the current government is pursuing.

“The easy option is just to increase taxes on businesses but we are deeply concerned that the government isn’t addressing, in any shape or form, the waste of government spending across the board. We believe that a change in attitude of government spending is vital at this stage.”

Calling for a reset in the government’s approach, Mr. Cullen added: “Governments need to change their attitude to business. We are not here just to pay taxes. There’s a sense within the industry that we can help the government increase efficiencies and productivity but we need a common sense approach. Our door is open for that conversation.”