Defence contractor making changes to ‘improve operational excellence’
In a major blow to the UK manufacturing sector, BAE Systems is reportedly cutting around 2,000 jobs in military, maritime and intelligence services.
Britain’s biggest defence contractor announced today that up to 1,400 jobs would go at its military, air and information business, along with 375 in maritime services and 150 at its applied intelligence business, taking the total number of possible cuts up to 1,925.
BAE, which makes the Eurofighter Typhoon jet and Britain’s nuclear submarines, employs more than 83,000 people worldwide, including 34,600 in Britain
Media reports suggest that this shake-up marks the first significant move by chief executive Charles Woodburn and will affect Warton and Samlesbury in Lancashire, which manufacture the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.
In a statement today, Woodburn said the changes “unfortunately include proposed redundancies at a number of operations”.
The defence contractor has stated that it was making organisational changes to “boost competitiveness, accelerate technology innovation and improve operational excellence”.
It added that the restructuring of its cyber-security wing would “drive continued growth”.
Speaking to media today, Unite union has vowed to fight the “devastatingly short-sighted cuts”, estimating that by 2020, a quarter of the UK’s defence spend will be benefitting American factories and firms such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
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