All across the country workers are being axed

Published on Wednesday 17 June 2009 22:07

ABOUT 125 jobs are to be lost at a missile test firing range in the Western Isles, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced.

Twenty jobs linked to an underwater range near Raasay, off Skye, are also expected to go, along with two at a site on the Clyde.

West Freugh, a military range and test facility near Stranraer, will not be affected.

Cuts are being made as part of an effort by the MoD to make 50 million savings.

The MoD said it hoped the redundancies would help to secure a long-term future for the sites and a local consultation will now take place.

The Western Isles will be hardest hit, with the Hebrides range control centre on South Uist being shut by 2014.

Staff will no longer work on St Kilda – instead range radar there will be operated remotely, with staff visiting for maintenance only.

Elsewhere, the Angus economy suffered a major blow yesterday as a leading food firm announced plans to axe 95 posts – 40 per cent of its workforce.

The redundancies at the Letham chicken processing plant of the 2 Sisters Food Group have been blamed on a downturn in the British market for cut and portioned chicken.

As part of a review of the Birmingham-based group's UK operations, the cutting division at the Letham factory will be closed and operations transferred to a centralised facility at a 2 Sisters' factory in the West Midlands. The Letham factory has a workforce of about 240, processing 230,000 chickens a week.

Local councillor David Lumgair expressed disappointment at the scale of the job losses. He said: "The factory will be processing whole chickens which will then be sent south for cutting and portioning. I don't know what benefit that brings and I hope there are no more cutbacks. I hope this is not the start of a move away from Scotland."

Meanwhile, the Russell Europe sportswear plant in West Lothian is set to shut with the loss of 60 jobs. Staff at their Bathgate distribution warehouse have been told they will all be laid off within a year.

The company, previously known as Russell Athletic, blamed "poor economic conditions" for the move.

AND THE LIST GOES ON …

AMONG the job-loss announcements yesterday, were:

&#149 78 pilots from the 3,200-strong team at BA.

&#149 125 Ministry of Defence jobs at a missile testing range in South Uist.

&#149 800 jobs are to go with the closures of 132 Birthday's shops across the UK, including 25 stores in Scotland. Branches across Glasgow, Edinburgh, Fife and the Borders are all affected.

&#149 60 jobs are to go at Russell Europe distribution plant in Bathgate – formerly known as Russell Athletic.

&#149 95 jobs go at the 2 Sisters Food Group in Letham, Angus, a chicken processing plant