BAE Systems, the British defense conglomerate, announced plans to eliminate over 100 management positions just weeks after securing a major naval ship contract worth approximately £10 billion.
According to an email sent to employees by Sir Simon Lister, Managing Director of BAE Systems Naval Ships (a former Royal Navy officer), the company’s Naval Ships division will undergo an organizational restructuring affecting up to 116 positions.
Not long ago, BAE Systems’ Govan and Scotstoun shipyards secured one of the company’s largest export contracts to date, building five Type 26 frigates for Norway worth approximately £10 billion. Consequently, a company employee told The Times: “Nobody saw this coming.”
BAE Systems has confirmed this redundancy plan, which affects management positions in Portsmouth, Frimley, and Filton, England. The company stated its intention to minimize compulsory redundancies by redeploying employees to other positions within the group wherever possible.
A spokesperson for BAE Systems stated: “In recent years, the company has made substantial investments in infrastructure. We have now initiated a business restructuring assessment aimed at reshaping and modernizing the operational model for our naval ship business. We will work closely with employee representative groups and do everything possible to support our colleagues, including exploring potential opportunities within other areas of the company. Throughout this process, our focus remains on serving our customers.”
BAE Systems is currently investing in upgrading its Scottish shipbuilding base, including building an indoor shipbuilding workshop and skills training academy that can ensure round-the-clock operations. The total number of employees in its naval ship business in the UK has increased from approximately 4,800 to more than 6,000.
The indoor shipbuilding workshop, commissioned earlier this year at a cost of £300 million, forms the core component of the Govan shipyard’s modernization and digital transformation project.
The new facility, measuring 170 meters long and 80 meters wide, is equipped with two 100-ton cranes and two 20-ton cranes, enabling simultaneous construction of two Type 26 City-class frigates. Capable of accommodating up to 500 workers in a single shift, the workshop will for the first time allow fully enclosed construction of naval ships at the yard, eliminating the impact of adverse weather conditions on shipbuilding operations.
Regarding layoffs, BAE Systems Australia also announced in August this year that it would be cutting jobs, affecting approximately 150 positions.
BAE Systems Australia attributed the job cuts to the termination of the Anzac-class frigate “Transitional Capability Assurance Program (TransCAP)”. The program was canceled by the government following a review of the Royal Australian Navy’s surface fleet by retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral William Hilarides.