(July 10th 2001)
BAE Shipyard Job Losses
Despite the announcement that a further three Type 45 vessels will be ordered ahead of schedule, bringing the total currently on order to six, BAE has announced that over 1,000 shipyard jobs will go.
BAE had hoped to build all twelve Type 45 destroyers itself, but the revised construction programme announced today will see the bow, main mast and funnel sections of the first six ships constructed by Vosper Thornycroft. Additionally, five of the six vessels will be assembled at BAE’s yard at Barrow-in-Furness, instead of on the Clyde.
Around a thousand jobs will go at BAE’s Scotstoun and Govan yards on the Clyde and a further 150 will go at Barrow-in-Furness. BAE will try and limit the impact through voluntary redundancy, early retirement and relocation.
The job losses can largely be attributed to a short-term gap in the order books. Last year the MoD placed an order with BAE’s to construct two Alternative Landing Ship Logistics (ALSL). Work was to have commenced at Govan this month, but delays in receiving plans and technical information from a Dutch firm has resulted in the work being delayed for a year.
BAE also made a speculative bid to build a further two Wave Class tankers, which would have provided work until the construction of the first Type 45 began in 2003. BAE believed that experience gained building Wave Knight and Wave Ruler would allow significant reductions on the cost on a third and fourth vessel. However the Ministry of Defence rejected the bid on the grounds that neither the military requirement nor the funding existed for the proposed vessels.
BAE’s Managing Director Simon Kirby stated "Unfortunately today’s positive announcement concerning the Type 45 has no impact on these short term workload issues faced by our business. We have done everything we ca to address this situation but regrettably have been left with no alternative other than to announce these redundancies".