BAE cuts nearly 3,000 UK jobs

Defense contractor BAE Systems PLC confirmed Tuesday it is cutting around 3,000 jobs in Britain.

The news follows days of speculation over possible job losses. British unions say the cuts will deal a “hammer blow” to U.K. manufacturing.

BAE said in a statement that the job losses are “in response to changes in key programs and the need to maintain competitiveness.”

The company is facing difficult market conditions, in part due to cuts to government defense budgets. It faces defense-spending reviews in the U.K. and U.S.

“Our customers are facing huge pressures on their defence budgets and affordability has become an increasing priority,” BAE’s Chief Executive Ian King said. “Our business needs to rise to this challenge to maintain its competitiveness and ensure its long term future.”

BAE had earlier declined to confirm details of the job cuts until information about the redundancies could be relayed to staff at the affected U.K. sites in face-to-face briefings.

London-based BAE Systems employs around 100,000 people worldwide — with about 40,000 staff in the U.K.

In December, BAE announced plans to cut nearly 1,300 jobs due to sharp government spending cuts.