Aviation firms announce job cuts

Two Dorset aircraft companies have announced more than 100 job losses.

Seventy people working at European Aviation, based in Bournemouth, have been made redundant due to the economic downturn.

The firm said it will be grounding its two aircraft which fly out of Bournemouth Airport.

Meanwhile, Flight Refuelling Ltd, part of the Cobham Group based in Wimborne, is planning to lose 95 people next year, due to restructuring.

In a statement, the company said it hoped to shed the jobs through voluntary means making attempts to find alternative employment for staff.

The statement read: "These developments are not related to the current economic environment, rather [our] strategic intent to maintain top three market positions around the world.

"In the globally competitive aerospace and defence marketplace, businesses have focus on the core capabilities."