Defence contractor BAE Systems is set to axe 1,000 British jobs amid a slowdown in orders for Typoon fighter jets, it emerged today.
The firm is set to slash jobs at its Warton plant in Preston, Lancashire, later this week.
Sky News revealed today the announcement would see a ‘trimming’ of the workforce in other locations around Britain. BAE employs 34,600 people in the UK, almost half of its 83,000-strong global workforce.
Critics warned the move was a sign of wider uncertainty caused by Brexit. Theresa May hosted business leaders at a summit in Downing Street today.
The move will trigger a furious political row because of the timing of the cuts. There is acute sensitivity in Government about workforce reductions at major exporters amid uncertainty over the terms of Brexit.
Defence contractor BAE Systems is set to axe 1,000 British jobs amid a slowdown in orders for Typoon fighter jets, it emerged today (pictured is a Typhoon at BAE’s Warton plant)
![The firm is set to slash jobs at its Warton plant in Preston, Lancashire (pictured), later this week](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/09/11/15148386000005DC-0-image-a-16_1507546506658.jpg)
The firm is set to slash jobs at its Warton plant in Preston, Lancashire (pictured), later this week
Sources said that Brexit was ‘not a factor’ in the BAE decision.
The company said: ‘BAE Systems continually reviews its operations to make sure we are performing as effectively and efficiently as possible, delivering our commitments to existing customers and ensuring we are best placed to secure future business.
‘If and when there are any changes proposed we are committed to communicating with our employees and their representatives first.’
James McGrory, Executive Director of Open Britain, said: ‘These lay-offs at BAE are terrible news for the local workforce and for the wider British manufacturing sector.
‘The uncertainty that is being created by Brexit will make the situation worse, not better.
‘The Government’s decision to pull out of the Single Market and the Customs Union will hammer UK manufacturing by erecting new barriers to trade with our biggest economic partner.
‘The consequences will be especially serious in sectors like aerospace, which have complex cross-border supply chains.
‘It’s high time the Government acted to protect jobs by reversing their ideological decision to leave the Single Market and the Customs Union.’
Tom Brake MP, Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman said: ‘Theresa May was handed a fake P45 but 1,000 people have been handed real P45s through no fault of their own, and that will be devastating for many families.
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/09/16/41E15ED700000578-4962482-image-a-44_1507563887416.jpg)
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/09/16/21F5E7C400000578-4962482-image-m-43_1507563878618.jpg)
Critics including Lib Dem Tom Brake (left) and Open Britain’s James McGrory (right) warned Brexit was causing wider uncertainty in the economy even if it was not the trigger for the BAE decision
‘The economy is not doing nearly as well as it was, and that in significant part is due to the government’s economic mismanagement, which has seen Britain go from top to the bottom of the growth league for major economies.
‘While it would be wrong to blame Brexit specifically for this decision it is clear that the government’s determination to take us out of the world’s largest single market has hit business confidence and investment, which is then having a knock on effect.’
Unite Assistant general secretary Steve Turner said: ‘The ripple effects down the supply chain and through our manufacturing communities would be immense too, hitting the workforces in other cutting-edge companies that are involved in the manufacture of one of the best fighter jets in the world, as well as depriving communities of decent well-paid jobs.
‘At a time of Brexit, these are precisely the kind of jobs that the UK Government should be protecting. Rather than shipping our defence spend overseas to factories in America and cutting defence, ministers should be investing in jobs, skills and communities by buying British.’
BAE chief Charles Woodburn warned when he took the helm of the firm in August that Typhoon orders needed careful monitoring.
He said then: ‘We obviously have to review our (Typhoon) production demand very carefully.
‘We are confident that we will win further Typhoon orders, what we can’t be confident around is the timing.