BAE Systems announces job cuts
By politics.co.uk staff
BAE Systems has announced the company will axe 1,100 jobs and close its site in Cheshire after a company efficiency review.
The defence company will close the Woodford plant on completion of the Nimrod MRA4 aircraft contract in 2012, with the loss of over 600 jobs. Other jobs will go at sites in Lancashire and Farnborough in Hampshire.
In a statement, the company said: “It has been clear since 2003 that the Woodford site had little future beyond the end of Nimrod MRA4 production, and the workforce has been kept informed since that time.
“Despite strenuous efforts to achieve further Nimrod production work, there has been none forthcoming.”
BAE spokesman Kevin Taylor said: “Whilst we regret having to make this announcement, we have to ensure we are the right size and shape to remain competitive and meet our customer’s requirements in the future.”
The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU) called the news “bitterly disappointing”.
Earlier in the year, the company was forced to shed another 500 jobs at three further sites in the UK.
