More cuts at Qinetiq

Trade union claims a quarter of firm’s 6,000 employees are at risk of redundancy

Plans by defence firm Qinetiq to cut a further 325 jobs on top of almost 400 positions announced early last month illustrated the impact that cuts in public sector funding were having on privately employed engineers, unions said.

Trade union Prospect, which represents engineers and scientists, said it was alarmed at the decision by Qinetiq. The union claimed that around a quarter of the firm’s 6,000 employees were at risk of redundancy.

Worst hit will be sites at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, and Farnborough, Hampshire.

Qinetiq also plans to cut 30 posts at its site in Malvern, Worcestershire.

The company said that the most recent round of job cuts was targeted at its services operations at a number of facilities and that it would help affected staff.

“The group has formally notified the trade unions of its proposals and will work with employees and their representatives to carry out the process in a fair and supportive way,” it said.

Prospect national secretary David Luxton said: “Qinetiq now has a quarter of its 6,000 employees at risk, which is alarming and distressing for more than 1,500 highly skilled scientists, engineers and project managers.

“The scale of the redundancies, which are attributable to Ministry of Defence spending cuts, sharply exposes the vulnerability of private sector jobs to public expenditure cuts.”

Luxton added: “Redundancies on this scale will have a devastating impact on many individuals and their families, and reinforces the bleak economic outlook across the defence sector – directly attributable to the spending decisions being made by government.”