More Job Losses Expected at BAE Systems Samlesbury

Almost 100 BAE Systems workers have left the BAE Samlesbury plant as part of massive job cuts — but another 100 redundancies still need to be found.

Around 65 mostly shop floor staff at the site took voluntary redundancy shortly before Christmas after the defence giant last year announced plans to axe 205 jobs.

Bosses said more voluntary applications have now been approved and 30 more staff would leave the firm 'in the next couple of months'.

But that leaves more than 100 positions still to be axed, some of which are not expected to be voluntary.

Neil Sheehan, a Unite union convenor at Samlesbury, said: “This is a long programme of redundancy and it will stretch right out until the end of the year.

“We are in talks and consultation at the moment, and we are hopeful that we can avoid a lot of compulsory redundancies.

“It is all ongoing at the moment and we are just trying to negotiate and reduce the number of people who have to leave.

“There are opportunities for people to take jobs elsewhere.”