Battle looms over BAE blow

Confirmation of the announcement they were dreading came as the company said it was shedding 3,000 jobs, including 900 at Brough in East Yorkshire.

The handling of the announcement – leaked initially on Saturday evening – can only add to the anger of staff as they face the axe.

The losses are a direct result of defence cuts at home and abroad but they also have broader implications for the country and the economy, particularly in this region in a further erosion of the manufacturing base.

When Ministers announced they planned to make swingeing cuts in public spending, they claimed the private sector would move in to create new jobs.

Chancellor George Osborne is pinning his hopes, in particular, on Britain’s manufacturing industry to re-balance an economy hooked on a dangerous dependency to financial services. His contention which appears to lack economic rigour was given some credence when a number of the country’s biggest employers made supportive remarks but it is already proving illusory.

In reality, the private sector is constrained by low levels of demand despite record low interest rates and a competitive pound – and the situation is set to get worse. Workers facing redundancy from Brough face a bleak future, with little demand for their exceptional skills, while there will be a further knock-on impact of the closure of the factory, which first opened in 1915, on local communities.

Of further concern must be the future of Britain’s defence capabilities. Vital skills risk being lost from BAE, which remains an outstanding example of British engineering expertise as a world leader in its field.

Local MP David Davis yesterday said the Government would put “every ounce of effort” into protecting as many jobs as possible.

But Business Secretary Vince Cable’s response to what he described as a “serious knock” for individuals and communities hardly inspires confidence.

Unions and local MPs are united in their fight – both for the local economy and the country’s defence requirements.