QinetiQ sheds more jobs
DEFENCE supplier QinetiQ has confirmed it is to axe more jobs at its Midlands operation in Malvern.
The company is to shed a further 30 posts at the centre, which is on top of the 230 posts it had already announced were going.
Across the UK as a whole, QinetiQ said it would be reducing headcount by a further 325. This is in additional to the 391 posts it has already axed across the business.
The move is not unexpected and the company had warned in an interim management statement last week that more job losses were likely as a consequence of reduced Ministry of Defence spending.
QinetiQ said the decision to axe the jobs, which are primarily in its managed services operations, followed a detailed review of the business.
In addition to workers at Malvern, the company has begun consultations with unions representing workers at its headquarters in Farnborough together with its base at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire.
The group said its intention was to work with employees and their representatives to carry out the process in a fair and supportive way.
Leo Quinn, chief executive of QinetiQ said: “In today’s challenging business environment we need to ensure that QinetiQ is focussed on its strengths and is fully aligned with the needs of its customers.
“Whilst we must reset our cost base in line with demand, we will continue to maintain a full capability for our customers through our unique understanding of the global aerospace, defence and security markets.”
QinetiQ employs around 6,500 people in the UK and over 13,000 people across the group. In the year to March 31, 2010, QinetiQ’s reported revenues of £1.6bn with a pre-tax loss of £66.1m.
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