Thousands of workers at the Italian-owned aerospace and defence company Leonardo, which runs Britain’s only helicopter factory have won a pay increase worth 8 per cent over two years. The planned further action was called off following the improved offer.
The future for the workforce of over 3,000 is not secure. Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani has threatened to close the Yeovil factory if the government fails to award a new contract to the company. Closure would mark the end of aircraft manufacturing at the Yeovil site, founded as the Westland Aircraft Works in 1915, and the end of helicopter manufacture in Britain.
Leonardo proposed its AW149 model for the New Medium Helicopter required by the Ministry of Defence. After long delays by the government in deciding the contract, defence minister Luke Pollard claimed on 25 November that “a decision [will] be made shortly as part of the upcoming Defence Investment Plan.”
• A longer version of this article is on the web at www.cpbml.org.uk