BAE Systems has revealed it is to make a further 500 staff redundant and close three sites in response to low demand for combat vehicles and weaponry.
On the same day as British troops officially end combat operations in Iraq and a day after it was confirmed no more UK troops will be sent to Afghanistan, BAE said the decreasing level of military activity coupled with increasing pressure to build goods that last longer has entailed a hit to its order book and has forced it to take the action announced today.
“Our forecast UK order intake has reduced and we have to match the size of our business appropriately to the projected nature and volume of workload,” read a BAE statement.
The sites to close will be Telford, Leeds and Guildford and there will be further cuts in Barrow, Newcastle and Leicester.
BAE were unavailable to comment on whether the cuts will affect a recruitment drive of 800 new staff at the Barrow plant from which 90 existing staff will now leave, as per today’s development.
The union Unite’s national officer Bernie Hamilton described himself as “extremely disappointed” upon hearing the news.
