Another 600 jobs go at BAe

BRITISH AEROSPACE yesterday axed a further 600 jobs in its regional aircraft division, bringing the number of redundancies announced by the company this week to more than 1,200, writes Michael Harrison.

The latest cuts at its Woodford and Chadderton factories near Manchester were blamed on the recession and lower aircraft orders from airlines. They follow 650 job losses on Wednesday at Filton, Bristol and Broughton, near Chester.

The Labour Party and the unions said the job losses, coming so close to Christmas, were a further setback for the economy and showed that the Chancellor's attempts to foster growth in his Autumn Statement were 'too little, too late'.

Earlier this year, BAe announced a pounds 1bn rationalisation of its regional aircraft business, the closure of the Hatfield plant in Hertfordshire with thousands of job losses, and the sale of a half- share in the operation to Taiwan.

Frank Dobson, Labour's employment spokesman, said: 'If we are to have an industrial future, these are the type of hi-tech jobs we cannot afford to lose.'

GPT, the telecommunications company, announced the closure of its Kirkcaldy factory in Fife with 250 job losses.