BAE Systems workers stage a protest in London

Employees accuse the firm of not doing enough to save jobs at Brough

Workers facing redundancy at the BAE Systems plant in East Yorkshire have accused the firm of not doing enough to save jobs and of "bailing out" of a factory which has been a manufacturing site for over 100 years.

Chairman Dick Olver said job cuts at the plant in Brough were "unavoidable and imperative" because of the challenges facing the company.

Hundreds of workers travelled to the company's AGM in central London to stage a protest, wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan Battle for Brough, and Brough Justice.

A number of employees attended the meeting, including David Bird, who was close to tears when he told the chairman, during a question and answer session, that he faced redundancy after 21 years with the company.

Another employee, Steve Olsen, told the board that BAE was not doing enough to save jobs at Brough. He said: "You are bailing out very easily. The company can do more for people who work at Brough."

Paul Bell asked how the board could be given a pay rise when so many workers were being sacked. "You have not performed and are giving yourselves a pay rise. We have performed well but we are being sacked."

Dick Olver acknowledged the effect of the job cuts in Brough but said the company had to respond to the changing demands of its customers.

"Governments are quite rightly taking hard decisions on how to spend taxpayers' money."

He went on to say that the firm was working to mitigate the effect of the decision to end manufacturing at Brough, adding that hopefully the final number of job losses would be fewer than the 900 announced.