Rolls-Royce is to close its UK defence operations near Coventry, but reshoring jobs from Germany could replace redundancies.
The aerospace and defence giant, which employs about 800 people at Ansty, near Coventry said it hopes to avoid compulsory redundancies.
Unite national officer for aerospace and shipbuilding, Ian Waddell, said: “The underlying reason for the job losses is the government’s defence spending cuts.”
A spokesperson for Rolls-Royce told the BBC: “We are in consultation with trade unions over reductions in our defence workforce at Ansty. We hope to achieve this without compulsory redundancies.”
Journalists using Twitter to circulate the story said that the Ansty site would not close, one adding “while 400 jobs could go, but others likely to come back to UK to the Bristol plant from Germany”.
The move comes in response to an internal study that reviewed the Rolls-Royce defence aerospace business in Ansty and Bristol.
The civil aerospace business located at Ansty is not expected to be affected.
