Airbus suppliers cut 124 jobs

Over 120 jobs will go at the north Wales factory

A firm in north Wales has announced 124 redundancies as the crisis in the aviation industry continues in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks.

Trefn, based at Llay near Wrexham, is a major supplier of components to the Airbus wing plant at Broughton in Flintshire and employs 403 people.

The cuts will be spread between departments

Operations director Phil Underwood said the cuts were forced by an £8m reduction in orders over the last year, which represents a 22% cut in the firm's business.

Mr Underwood also revealed that the firm had just received manufacturing schedules for 2002 from British Aerospace and Shorts of Belfast.

Both had reduced their requirements for the year.

The cuts will be spread between the engineering, treatments and fabrications departments.

Industry fears

AEEU union representative Alwyn Rowlands said that while job losses had been anticipated, the figure had taken them by surprise.

It is now feared that the industry will suffer further losses as the slump continues.

The Transport and General Workers' Union said a total of 20,000 jobs have gone since 11 September.

Earlier in October, 350 redundancies occurred at the GE Aero engine plant at Nantgarw, south Wales.

When these cuts were announced, unions representing hundreds of aviation workers called for government support to prevent more losses.

However, European Union rules prevent state aid packages being used to prop up aviation companies.

But other avenues could be explored, including support from the Welsh Assembly.

Pressure is mounting now to offer similar help to ensure the GE job losses do not spread further and hit other key employers.