13-07-2010 | BAE welcomes support following closure announcement
A partnership support group is being assembled following the announcement by BAE Systems that it will close it's Radar Road, Leicester, plant by Autumn 2011, with the loss of around 290 jobs. The first jobs are expected to go towards the end of this year.
The partnership support group will be led by Prospect Leicestershire and will also include Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce, the city council and Jobcentre Plus.
The priority for the partnership group, which will include BAE Systems, will be to put support in place to help people find new employment. Also important will be finding new uses for the site and creating new employment opportunitites in the local economy.
Prospect Leicestershire executive chairman Nick Carter said: "The news of the BAE closure is sad for the workforce and brings to an end a history of cutting edge engineering on the site that goes back to the early development of radar just after the Second World War. Nonetheless, the economy of Leicester and Leicestershire is mature and resilient. We need to work now to tackle the worst effects of this situation and particularly the impact on people's livelihoods."
Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce Managing Director Martin Traynor said he was encouraged by the speed at which the partnership had reacted to the news. He said: "It is at times like this that the sub-regional partners pull together to make sure that we are acting for the benefit of the local workforce. We are lucky that we have a relatively long lead in time to work to here and will benefit from the commitment of the plant management."
BAE have welcomed the contact from the Support Group and a meeting is due with senior representatives of the firm at the end of July.
