AN AEROSPACE firm which has worked on some of the UK’s most iconic fighter planes has confirmed it is making redundancies thought to hit 70 jobs.

The proposed cull at Kembrey Wiring Systems comes after it promised new positions just a year ago.

The company makes wiring harnesses and other specialist equipment for firms such as Rolls-Royce and helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland.

Kembrey blamed a cut in military spending by governments, among other measures, for hitting its order book.

One shocked staff member said: “Everyone was in panic when the redundancies were announced. We have all got houses and families.”

Staff at the factory in Garrard Way, Greenbridge, were informed on Wednesday and Thursday last week with the company confirming yesterday that it was starting a redundancy programme.

The worker, who asked not to be named, said 150 people are employed overall at the site, adding: “It’s been depressing watching it all go downhill. I was supposed to get a 30p hourly pay rise in March but I was told no, even though they said the company was financially stable “Since then 10 or 20 people have left the company, but I only found out what had been going on when they made the announcement about the redundancies last week. It’s disappointing that all that hard work has ended up with this, we should have been told much sooner.

“We were well respected in the aerospace industry but now 70 skilled workers will be out by the summer.”

Though Kembrey said in a statement yesterday it had not finalised redundancy plans, the operative claimed staff were already working a notice period ending in the summer. The company announced last July that it would create jobs as part of an investment by new owners Arundel Aerospace & Defence Systems. The good news had followed a history in aviation engineering which began in 1954 and included work on the Nimrod, Harrier and Tornado aircraft.

Kembrey blamed the cuts on “fluctuating” demand for its work. It said: “As a result of the recent financial crisis that continues to affect most countries, many governments have imposed consequent austerity measures and their impact on government and military spending has impacted on the flow of work at Kembrey.

“Some programs are due to finish within the next few months. Despite their best efforts, the management of Kembrey have not been able to obtain the volume of work to replace these terminated programs, and even although some new programs have been won, these are still at the development stage, rather than at full-rate manufacture.

“The management have commenced discussions with staff... concerning a redundancy program for a limited number of roles. The numbers involved and the timescales have not been established or confirmed.”