26 jobs shed in BAE review

BAE's Chadderton site

TWENTY six jobs are to go at the Chadderton site of BAE Systems as part of a review by the giant defence and aerospace business which is shedding almost 1,000 posts.

The Greengate site, which employs around 300 people, currently support a number of aircraft for the Royal Air Force.

In February this year, 41 management jobs were cut at Chadderton because of the retirement of the RAF’s Nimrod MR2 squadron.

The company said there could be 212 job losses at Brough, in East Yorkshire, associated with a reduction in workload, mainly on the Hawk programme, 26 job losses at Chadderton, because of a reduction in workload in the large aircraft business, 55 job losses within the Harrier team at Farnborough, Hampshire, 149 job losses at Samlesbury, Lancashire and 298 job losses at Warton, Lancashire.

Unions reacted with shock to the announcement by the manufacturing giant with officials warning that the losses could be the tip of the iceberg.

The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions warned that the outcome of the forthcoming strategic defence and security review and the cuts being demanded by the Treasury mean “worrying prospects” for the defence industry.

CSEU general secretary Hugh Scullion said: “The unions will be demanding an explanation from BAE.”