Unions vow to fight shipyard job cuts

The destruction of British manufacturing continued apace last month, with the announcement of more than 1,100 shipyard job losses at defence contractor BAE Systems, despite the company securing work on six Royal Navy destroyers.

The announcement came hot on the heels of job losses at Marconi (see below) and further problems in textiles and telecoms equipment (see right).

The BAE job losses will be concentrated on the company's Scotstoun and Govan yards, Glasgow. Over 1,000 jobs - more than a third of the company's workforce - will go on the River Clyde, Glasgow, and a further 150 will be cut at Barrow-in-Furness,

Cumbria.

Unions attacked the job cuts and say they will fight against them. John Edmonds, general secretary of the GMB general union, said: "Workers were expecting an announcement which would secure jobs, not result in 1,000 jobs being axed. They were preparing to party but it has turned into a wake".

Jamie Webster, Govan shipyard spokesperson for the GMB, said: "When we set out to secure the long-term future of the Clyde two-and-a-half years ago, we did not think we would have to pay a price like this."

He said the company would have a struggle to persuade workers to take voluntary redundancies. "There is no way they will get those numbers, especially in Govan. We have fought for two years. People in that yard want to work."