Warfare in News

BAE Systems announced this morning that it is to cut 1,775 jobs at its shipyards in Scotland and England, and will end shipbuilding entirely in Portsmouth, following a decline in work after the end of aircraft carrier work.

The Portsmouth site will retain repairs and maintenance work, but 940 staff posts and 170 agency workers will be made redundant. Whilst a further 835 jobs will be lost at yards in Govan and Scotstoun, on the River Clyde in Glasgow, at Rosyth in Fife, and at the Filton office, near Bristol.

In total, the firm employs 4,400 in shipbuilding in the UK, including 1,200 in Portsmouth, but a significant drop in demand has made the cuts necessary.

Speaking at Prime Minister's questions in the Commons, David Cameron said his thoughts were with the workers affected by these 'extremely difficult decisions'.

He added:

'We want our Royal Navy to have the best and most modern ships and the best technology.[i/]

'That means we will go on building warships on the Clyde, we will be announcing three new offshore patrol vessels, keeping that yard busy rather than paying for it to remain idle as the last government proposed.

'In Portsmouth, yes there will be job reductions, but there are many more people involved in ship servicing than in ship building, so the workforce will go from 12,000 to 11,000.'

BAE Systems announced this morning that it is to cut 1,775 jobs at its shipyards in Scotland and England, and will end shipbuilding entirely in Portsmouth, following a decline in work after the end of aircraft carrier work. The Portsmouth site will retain repairs and maintenance work, but 940 staff posts and 170 agency workers will be made redundant. Whilst a further 835 jobs will be lost at yards in Govan and Scotstoun, on the River Clyde in Glasgow, at Rosyth in Fife, and at the Filton office, near Bristol. In total, the firm employs 4,400 in shipbuilding in the UK, including 1,200 in Portsmouth, but a significant drop in demand has made the cuts necessary. Speaking at Prime Minister's questions in the Commons, David Cameron said his thoughts were with the workers affected by these 'extremely difficult decisions'. He added: [i]'We want our Royal Navy to have the best and most modern ships and the best technology.[i/] [i]'That means we will go on building warships on the Clyde, we will be announcing three new offshore patrol vessels, keeping that yard busy rather than paying for it to remain idle as the last government proposed.[/i] [i]'In Portsmouth, yes there will be job reductions, but there are many more people involved in ship servicing than in ship building, so the workforce will go from 12,000 to 11,000.'[/i]