Engineering news
BAE Systems is to cut up to 371 jobs in the UK under plans to slow production of the Typhoon aircraft.
The majority of the job losses would affect the 13,000-strong workforce at Samlesbury, Lancashire.
The company also warned that the move to slow jet production would hit its 2015 financial results and will see sales revenue from Typhoon production drop from £1.3 billion in 2015 to about £1.1 billion in 2016.
BAE Systems recently secured a deal to supply 28 Typhoon aircraft for the Kuwait Air Force in September, with deliveries from the Italian Typhoon final assembly line set to start around the end of the decade. The company is also in talks with Saudi Arabia to try to secure further Typhoon sales.
Trade union Unite warned BAE Systems of cutting "too far, too fast" and urged the defence firm to guarantee no compulsory redundancies will be made.
Unite national officer Ian Waddell said: “This is disappointing news on top of a miserable few weeks for manufacturing in the UK. The government needs to stop dithering and act urgently to stop the haemorrhage of skilled UK manufacturing jobs.
“The Typhoon is a superb aircraft, but it faces tough competition in the export market. It is vital that critical skills and capability are maintained by BAE Systems and their supply chain so that the ability to build the Typhoon in the UK is protected. Cutting too far, too fast could led to a skills shortage for when orders pick up."
BAE Systems said it continued to achieve good growth in cyber security and commercial electronics.
Ian King, BAE Systems' chief executive, said: “Overall the company is operating in an improving business environment and we continue to win new orders, with good prospects for the future.
"In the short term, action to extend the production life of Typhoon aircraft by reducing the current production rate and a charge to impair the carrying value of the Williamstown shipyard in Australia will impact the group's 2015 results," he added.