1,000 jobs to go at GKN Aerospace

THE aerospace division of West Midlands engineering group GKN is planning to shed 1,000 jobs as it integrates four arms of the business.

GKN Aerospace currently has 50 manufacturing sites across 15 countries and employs around 18,000 people, of which about 3,500 are UK based.

It is not known how many of the jobs losses will come from the UK where it has operations in Solihull and Birmingham alongside sites in Bristol, the South East and Hampshire.

The company, whose group global headquarters are in Redditch, said the move would enable it to become more customerfocused and improve operational performance.

Following a spate of acquisitions, GKN Aerospace has grown from £600 million turnover in 2006 to more than £3.5 billion at the end of 2018.

It will now switch from four independent internal divisions into a single, fully integrated business with a single, connected network of global sites, all supported by shared services.

The reorganisation will take place within the next two years and the job losses will be non-production roles as “it reduces layers of management and support functions and increases its focus on operations”.

The company said it first outlined these plans in early 2018, pre-dating the £8.1 billion takeover of the wider GKN group by Birmingham-based turnaround investor Melrose which was waved through by then Business Secretary Greg Clark in April last year.

At the time of the controversial buyout, MPs sought assurances from Melrose that it would invest in the business and keep manufacturing in the UK but it was accused of reneging on these when it announced plans to shut its plants in Kings Norton.

Hans Büthker, chief executive of GKN Aerospace, said: “We are creating a single, fully integrated business aligned to our customers’ needs which will ensure we are better positioned within the competitive global aerospace market.

“Our rapid growth has brought us world-leading technology, an outstanding global footprint from which to support our customers, a balanced portfolio of work across all major aircraft platforms and great people.

“It has also made us complex.

“By taking the next step and fully integrating, we can begin to realise our full potential.”

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