QinetiQ job cuts ‘tip of iceberg’ say specialists

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QinetiQ job cuts ‘tip of iceberg’ say specialists

Prospect, which represents 2,000 specialists at the defence technology company QinetiQ, has expressed shock at the scale of redundancies announced by the company, and fear that this is the tip of an iceberg with more redundancies to follow in the coming weeks.



Prospect National Secretary David Luxton said the scale of the redundancies, which are attributable to the sharp decline in Ministry of Defence funded contracts, highlights how public expenditure cuts have a direct impact on private sector jobs in vital parts of the economy.

“Our members in QinetiQ give a technological edge to our armed forces which is evident in current military operations. The loss of so many skilled and innovative scientists and engineers will inevitably impact on the UK’s defence capabilities.”

“QinetiQ has begun a 90-day consultation with the unions, initially on 391 job losses, but it is expected that over 700 jobs will disappear during that period,” said Luxton.

The announcement of redundancies follows agreement between the unions and QinetiQ of reduced redundancy terms, following a ballot of members.

The union says the redundancies will affect around 10 per cent of QinetiQ’s workforce, but with a disproportionate impact at its site in Malvern, Worcestershire, where one third of the site workforce will be ‘at risk’ of redundancy.