The sun setting over the iconic Govan Shipyards on the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. British arms maker BAE Systems is set to axe more than 1,700 jobs at its shipbuilding yards in Govan and Scotstoun and Portsmouth in southern England.
LONDON: BAE Systems will axe 1,775 shipbuilding jobs and close a historic yard in Britain as a government austerity drive hits demand, the British maker of military equipment said yesterday.
The yard in Portsmouth will be closed in the second half of 2014, but an engineering team will be retained to support new Type 26 warships, which will be built in Glasgow, BAE said in a statement.
The undisclosed cost of restructuring BAE’s shipbuilding business will be borne by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the company added.
At the same time, the British government is imposing deep cuts to defence budgets as part of a round of sweeping public spending reductions aimed at slashing the nation’s deficit. The MoD also announced plans yesterday for BAE to build three new Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Royal Navy.
A total of 940 jobs will be lost in Portsmouth on the southern English coast, with another 835 axed in Filton in the southwest and at facilities in Glasgow and Rosyth in Scotland by 2016.
Prime Minister David Cameron described yesterday’s announcements as “extremely difficult decisions and our first thought should be with all of those who are affected”.
He told parliament: “In Portsmouth, yes there will be job reductions but there are many more people involved in ship servicing than ship building, so the workforce will go from 12,000 to 11,000.”
BAE Systems said it had reached a deal with the government “to enable the implementation of a restructuring of its UK naval ships business” resulting in the loss of 1.3 percent of its global workforce of 88,200 people.
“Consultation will commence on a total employee reduction of 1,775 that is expected to result from these restructuring proposals,” it said, adding that the consolidation of its British ships business would “match future capacity requirements”.
BAE said it had experienced a “significant” reduction in workloads following the peak of activity on its current programme to build two aircraft carriers.
It added: “The implementation of these restructuring activities will sustain BAE Systems’ capability to deliver complex warships for the Royal Navy and secure the employment of thousands of highly skilled employees across the UK.”
Trade unions described the cuts as a “devastating” blow for the industry.
“There is no doubt that this is a devastating day for the UK shipbuilding industry,” said David Hulse, a senior official with the GMB union.
AFP
