Britain said in October it would cut the £37 billion ($59
billion) defense budget by 8 percent in real terms over four years to help cut
a record peacetime budget deficit.
It scrapped an order for nine Nimrod surveillance planes,
made by BAE, and said Harrier jump jets, which BAE had a contract to maintain,
would be retired.
BAE said it “has started consultation regarding potential
job losses at six of its UK sites and two RAF (Royal Air Force) bases,” adding
up to 1,307 jobs could go in Britain because of the cancellation of the Nimrod
and Harrier programs.
Its Woodford site in Cheshire could be closed earlier than
planned because of the Nimrod decision, BAE said.
In addition, BAE Systems Saudi Arabia was looking to cut 90
jobs at its British business, the company said.
“Today’s announcement is designed to ensure we remain
competitive as we actively pursue a number of opportunities for our other
products and services both in the UK and internationally,” Kevin Taylor,
managing director of BAE’s Military Air Solutions business, said.
Military Air Solutions, which develops and makes military aircraft,
“remains a sustainable business with a strong business plan,” he said.
Unions and analysts have voiced fears about job losses that
government spending cuts may cause and the effect this may have on Britain’s
fragile recovery from recession. However, recent surveys have pointed to strong
overseas demand for British manufactured goods, boosted by the weak pound.
Most jobs — 668 — could go at a BAE site at Warton,
Lancashire, with 214 set to disappear at Farnborough, Hampshire and 119 at
Samlesbury, Lancashire, which will also bear the brunt of the 90 BAE Systems
Saudi Arabia job losses.
The Unite trade union said BAE’s announcement was “a tragedy
for the workforce and for Britain,” adding the government should think again
about the defense cuts.
“The country that gave the world the revolutionary Harrier
jump jet will lose the know-how to build an aircraft like this,” Unite national
officer Bernie Hamilton said. “The coalition are denying UK armed forces vital
equipment to defend this nation while families across the country worry about
their futures.”
