Prospect, the union for professionals, specialists and managers in the shipbuilding industry expressed concern and disappointment at the further job cuts announced at the Rosyth dockyard yesterday.

Following an internal re-organisation another 150 roles will be lost at the yard, bringing to nearly 400 the number of jobs lost at the Fife yard over the past six months. This means total job losses across Babcock's marine division now stand at around 900.

Jane Ross, Prospect negotiator said:

“We’ll work with our reps, members and management to try and mitigate the losses, and as always we’ll seek to avoid compulsory redundancies, but there is no escaping the fact that our members are angry and disappointed at further job cuts.”

Richard Hardy, Prospect national secretary for Scotland added:

“We’ve been campaigning for some time for the Westminster Government to move ahead with the orders for Fleet Solid Support vessels and Type 31e Frigates so that Rosyth and other yards across the UK can have certainty about workloads.

"Yesterday’s job losses were the result of internal changes at Babcock, but where there is a certainty of future workload displaced staff can be more readily re-deployed.

"It’s vital that the MoD places these orders with UK yards soon or the promised drumbeat of ship launches will be replaced by a lament for lost skills and jobs."

Prospect members affected at Babcock can speak to their Prospect reps. Any member who does not have the relevant contact details can contact the Prospect helpdesk to be put in touch.

If you work for Babcock and are not a member of a union yet, you can find out more about joining Prospect here.