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More manufacturing jobs to go

The region’s manufacturing base has taken another knock with the announcement of more than 100 redundancies. The first announcement came from BAE systems when it revealed that it was cutting 50 jobs at its factory in Newcastle. It was recently given the £300m contract to make a fleet of next-generation Terrier vehicles for the British Army.

The defence company - which also announced the closure of three factories in Leeds, Telford and Guildford, which together employ almost 2,000 - said that up to 100 of the affected workers at sites earmarked for closure could be transferred to the North East.

Meanwhile world-leading aircraft components company CAV Aerospace said it is to make 60 redundancies as the global economic downturn continues to affect demand.

The job cuts at the plant, in Consett, County Durham, will take redundancy numbers at the site to 100 in six months, after 40 posts were lost from its 400-strong workforce at the end of last year.

Both CAV Aerospace and BAE Systems expressed regret at having to make the cuts at this time.

Owen McFarlane, chief executive of CAV Aerospace, said the plant - whose products are used in most aircraft currently in operation - had introduced shorter working hours, different shift patterns and cost-cutting measures in an attempt to avoid redundancies.

“In common with many other businesses in all sectors, we are having to manage our way through the current worldwide economic difficulties, but this is an unprecedented time,” he said.

“We have taken actions with the aim of retaining jobs and protecting the long-term viability of the business for the future. We have done, and will continue to do, everything we can to safeguard the hundreds of jobs that have been created in Consett.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .