BAe confirms transfer of corporate jets work to US

British Aerospace confirmed yesterday's report in the Independent that it is cutting jobs in its corporate jets division and transferring some operations to the United States.

A total of 160 employees are to lose their jobs at BAe's Broughton plant near Chester and at Hatfield, Herts, leaving the corporate jet division with a workforce of 900.

Work on the completion of the BAe 125 range of business jets will be relocated from the Chester plant to the division's new headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, the former seat of office of President Bill Clinton.

A spokesman denied that the cutbacks were the prelude to the wholesale transfer of the corporate jet business to the US. 'We may have transferred headquarters over there but we have absolutely no intention of moving out UK production facilities. The market outside the US is best served from Chester and Hatfield,' a spokeswoman said.