Leaders from Unite the Union have issued statements expressing their concern over suggestions that BAE Systems may be cutting 3,000 jobs.
BAE Systems is the UK’s largest manufacturing-based organisation employing around 40,000 individuals in Britain and 100,000 worldwide.
BAE have declined to comment on the proposed job cuts but Unite’s national officer for aerospace, Ian Waddell said that any suck head count reduction would represent a “hammer blow” to British industry.
According to Waddell the pressure BAE find themselves under to make these cuts is a result of government’s ‘buy off the shelf’ policies for defence procurement. Earlier this year BAE revealed a 12% drop in half-year profits, a decline it attributed to government spending cuts.
This knock on effect on UK defence manufacturers is not unexpected. Ian Godden, chairman of the aerospace, defence and security trade body, ADS predicted earlier this year that without policy change from government 20,000-30,000 jobs will be lost across its sector in the next three years.
