BAE Systems confirms plans to cut nearly 3,000 jobs

 

The new RAF Nimrod is one of the BAE projects scrapped as a result of spending cuts

 

Defence giant BAE Systems has confirmed that it is cutting almost 3,000 jobs at sites across the country, mainly in its military aircraft division.

The firm ended days of speculation by giving details of a huge redundancy programme, saying it needed to maintain competitiveness.
Ian King, BAE chief executive, said in a statement that the company must "ensure its long-term future".
The biggest job cuts will be at sites in Lancashire and Yorkshire.
BAE employs 40,000 people in the UK and 100,000 worldwide.
The Brough factory, in East Yorkshire, will lose 900 jobs from its 1,300-strong workforce.
At Samlesbury, Lancashire, 565 jobs will go from the 3,970-strong workforce.
At Warton, Lancashire, 843 posts will be lost among 6,537 staff.

This news from BAE Systems will be a serious knock to the individuals and communities affected”

Vince Cable Business Secretary

 

Among other plants affected are operations in Dorset, Hampshire, Surrey, and Essex.

Most of the cuts will be made in BAE's military aircraft division, which is being affected by a slowdown in orders for the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft.
'Pressure' Mr King said: "Some of our major programmes have seen significant changes. The four partner nations in the Typhoon programme have agreed to slow production rates to help ease their budget pressures.

Defence spending cuts have been blamed for the job cuts at BAE Systems.
Indeed, there was a dramatic slowdown in global defence spending growth last year to just 1.3%, with European nations actually cutting spending by 2.8%.
But overall, global military spending remains strong, having hit a record $1.63 trillion (£1tn) in 2010, about double the global spend seen in 2000.
So there are still big contracts out there and BAE is still gunning for them. For instance, India and Japan are both looking to sign major new fighter jet contracts and the Eurofighter Typhoon is seen as a strong contender.
The challenge for BAE is thus not necessarily just an overall reduction in spending, but rather the tough competition in the fighter jet market, where the Typhoon is up against some tough rivals.

"Whilst this will help extend our production schedule and ensure the production line stays open until we receive anticipated export contracts, it does reduce the workload at a number of our sites.

"Pressure on the US defence budget and top-level programme changes mean the anticipated increase in F-35 production rates will be slower than originally planned, again impacting on our expected workload."
Unite, the biggest union at BAE, said it would meet management on Tuesday "and we will be doing everything we can to mitigate the impact of these cuts."
The union said in a statement: "The government cannot sit on its hands and allow these highly skilled jobs to disappear."
Business Secretary Vince Cable said his department would do everything it could to ensure that valuable skills were not lost the the UK economy.
"This news from BAE Systems will be a serious knock to the individuals and communities affected," he said in a statement.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber told the Labour Party conference in Liverpool that the job losses were "yet another devastating body blow to our manufacturing base".