In a time of war, defence jobs cut

UNIONS have described the loss of almost 3,000 jobs at defence giant BAE Systems as a hammer blow and “a dark day for British manufacturing”.

The vast majority of the cuts will take place south of the Border, but 35 out of 200 radar research jobs at Hillend, in Fife, will also go.

BAE has blamed a global slowdown rather than pointing the finger directly at UK defence cuts, but unions warned it is further evidence that the government’s austerity measures are not working.

Unite union national officer Ian Waddell said: “After days of speculation and rumours, our worst fears have been confirmed. It’s a dark day for thousands of skilled men and women across the country and it is a dark day for British manufacturing.

“BAE Systems have dealt a hammer blow to the UK defence industry and Unite is determined to fight the cuts.”

He added: “The government’s defence review has led to deep cuts in defence spending and significant job losses, meaning it will be difficult to redeploy the jobs now at risk.”

Speaking at the Labour Party conference, Trades Union Congress general secretary Brendan Barber described the redundancies as “yet another devastating body blow to our manufacturing base”.

“We urgently need an alternative to austerity, a Plan B to get people back to work, to get our economy moving, to get tax revenues flowing,” he added.

“It is becoming ever clearer that the government’s austerity agenda is dragging the economy down.”

However, Business Secretary Vince Cable said the UK government was working hard to support the employees affected. “My officials and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills local teams are already in touch with the company, local authorities and local enterprise partnerships to make sure that everything possible is done to help those affected,” he said.

The workers in Hillend are employed in highly technical roles, manufacturing components for military aircraft systems, such as radars and communication devices.

Last month, it appeared that a new £20 million order for radar systems for the next generation of Typhoon combat aircraft had secured the future of 200 jobs for another two years.

Last night Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, said: “This is very worrying news for the workers at Hillend. Only weeks after the team there landed a multi-million-pound contract it’s come like a bolt from the blue.

“I would urge the management at BAE to do everything to keep this highly skilled team together and realise what a great asset they have in the people that work so hard for them at the plant.”

BAE insists the job losses are necessary. Chief executive Ian King said: “Our customers are facing huge pressures on their defence budgets and affordability has become an increasing priority. Our business needs to rise to this challenge to maintain its competitiveness and ensure its long-term future.”

The company said most of the job cuts were due to a slowdown in orders for the Eurofighter Typhoon combat jet.

Mr King said: “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.”