Prospect negotiator Tony Hammond said the cuts were yet more evidence of how funding decisions made by the government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review were affecting the wider defence industry.

The cuts are the result of the Ministry of Defence’s decision to phase out its Nimrod surveillance aircraft and Harrier jets.

Hammond said: “The loss of valuable skills is a great concern to Prospect and is yet another blow to the UK’s defence infrastructure at a time when it is vital to invest in the future, not abandon skilled workers to an uncertain fate. Local communities will reel from this blow.”