Eaton axes 100 jobs

Eaton Aerospace in Titchfield, which employs 800 people, is to shed 60 contract workers and up to 40 permanent staff.

The company said the move follows cutbacks in the air travel industry, which has been hard hit by the global recession and refused to rule out further cuts if the economic slowdown worsens.

The plant, one of the region’s biggest employers, is the headquarters of Eaton’s Fuel Systems division and specialises in making parts such as fuel pumps and valves for clients such as Boeing and Airbus.

Equipment made in Titchfield is a vital part of high profile new airliners such as the in development Boeing 787 Dreamliner, pictured, and the recently launched Airbus A380, the largest passenger plane in the world.

David Squires managing director said: “We have been affected as all other companies have been by the global recession. In total across the whole company 8,600 people are leaving, which represents ten per cent of the workforce.

“Here we have 60 contractors who will be leaving. They are on temporary contracts and we’ll be releasing those in due course.

“Then there will be up to 40 permanent positions who will be leaving. Consultations start today and that will take 30 days and at the end of that period we will know how many.

“There has been a decline in airline business that affects the original equipment and the after-market sectors that we serve.”

He added that he was unable to rule out further cuts.

“This is all that we are planning for 2009 but we need to watch what is happening in the marketplace. It is only if market demand falls further that we could be affected further.

“We sell to all the big aircraft companies and our health follows their health.

“We believe this is the appropriate action to take and we certainly hope that we won’t have to make any further redundancies.

“We will make sure they have an appropriate severance package and that we help them and their families through this difficult time.”