P.M. BRIEFING : British Aerospace Cutting Back
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LONDON —
Britain’s leading defense contractor, British Aerospace, is closing two factories and cutting 5,000 jobs because of a worldwide reduction in orders for military aircraft, the company said today.
The company’s Kingston factory in south London, which makes fuselages for Britain’s Harrier jet fighters, will be closed by the end of 1992, with the loss of 2,000 jobs.
The Preston plant in northern England, which makes the Tornado jet fighter and the European Fighter Aircraft, will close by early 1993, with the loss of 3,000 jobs.
The company said the work will be transferred to other British Aerospace plants. British Aerospace said it hopes to shed 5,000 employees from its work force of 27,000 by attrition rather than layoffs.
