GKN to axe 1,250 jobs worldwide

Engineering group GKN is cutting 1,250 jobs worldwide as it responds to the slowdown in the automotive and aerospace markets, it said today.

GKN has been hit by falling demand for parts from major vehicle producers and expects to see a substantial downturn in orders at its civil aviation arm.

While the group said it was too early to tell where the axe would fall, some jobs would go in the UK, where GKN employs 8,000 staff.

About 70% of the cuts are expected to be in GKN’s civil aviation business in the UK, Europe and the United States.

The division’s main UK plants are based in Portsmouth, Luton and East Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

The group’s Agusta Westland helicopter business, based in Yeovil, is expected to be unaffected by the move.

GKN chief executive Marcus Beresford said the cuts would ensure the group was well placed to weather any further economic downturn.

He added: ‘‘On the basis of a thorough assessment of the outlooks for our markets, we are acting quickly and decisively.’’

GKN employs 38,000 people worldwide.