STAFF at one of the south's biggest manufacturing employers were today trying to come to terms with the loss of almost half of the 1,500-strong workforce.

GKN Aerospace Services on the Isle of Wight announced it is to shed 650 jobs, with the closure of the firm's north site at East Cowes - including key departments for the manufacture of aircraft engine casings.

The mass redundancies, one of the largest ever on the Island, have been blamed on the terrorist attacks in the USA on September 11.

The announcement, less than two weeks before Christmas is set to cause heartache for local many families and rock the fragile economy of the Isle of Wight - where the GKN is the largest private employer.

Union spokesman Brian Gearing, whose AEEU union has 900 members at East Cowes, said: "Christmas has been cancelled for 650 families, or you could say 1,500 as we don't know who exactly is going yet.

"This is a very sad day. Hundreds of skilled workers are losing their jobs, and are likely to find it very hard to find employment on the Island.

"What has been happening all around the country has now happened to us."

Only this week the Island's unemployment rate was reported to have risen for the second month in a row, from four percent to 4.5 per cent.

Mr Gearing said the redundancies were unlikely to be for another three months, but until then there would be great uncertainty for all the workers.

The redundancies have been forecast for several months, and are due to the global damage to the aerospace industry following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the USA.

Union officials were called to a meeting with management on Wednesday to be briefed on the situation, with the announcement made to the workforce yesterday.

GKN has not yet revealed what it intends to do with the prime waterfront site, which includes its famous massive Union Jack hangar. The closures will leave the southern Falcon Works site and the Osborne Works on the outskirts of the town, as the main GKN presence in the town.

The chief executive for GKN Aerospace Services in Europe, Marcus Bryson, said: "In addition to a regrettable but necessary reduction in our employee numbers, we are taking steps to improve our ability to capitalise on the opportunities which will be available when market conditions improve."