BAE to cut 3000 jobs across UK

The defence giant confirmed that the biggest job cuts would be at its sites in Warton and Samlesbury in Lancashire and at Brough in East Yorkshire. Jobs will also be lost at the firm's head office in Hampshire. BAE's chief executive, Ian King, said: "Our customers are facing huge pressures on their defence budgets and affordability has become an increasing priority. Our business needs to rise to this challenge to maintain its competitiveness and ensure its long term future. "The proposals announced today aim to put the business into the right shape to address the challenges we face now and in the future and ensure we are in the best possible position to win future business." King cited the slowdown in production rates of the Eurofighter Typhoon programme and the F-35 as the main reason for the cuts. He continued: "Pressure on the US defence budget and top level programme changes mean the anticipated increase in F-35 production rates will be slower than originally planned, again impacting on our expected workload. "To ensure we remain competitive, both in the UK and internationally, we need to reduce the overall costs of our businesses in-line with our reduced workload. "This transformation process is not going to be easy. We understand that this is a time of uncertainty for our employees and we are committed to working with them and their representatives to explore ways of mitigating the potential job losses.