Aerospace company to close plant

Aerospace engineering company GE Aviation has announced plans to close its manufacturing site in Cheltenham with the loss of 110 jobs.

The factory at Arle Court supplies systems for landing gears on all Airbus and Boeing aircraft.

The firm blames increased competition for the loss of the positions

The jobs in Civil Assembly and Test Activities will relocate to China while other manufacturing jobs will be moved to the Isle of Man and Wolverhampton.

'Best conditions'

The bulk of the work which was done in Cheltenham will relocate to Wolverhampton and the Isle of Man.

A statement from the company said: "We regret having to consider this course of action and will do everything possible to alleviate the effects of the proposed closure.

"This will include a number of initiatives to help people find alternative employment locally or elsewhere within GE and every effort will be made to redeploy those affected."

Unions have been informed and a 90-day consultation has begun.

Christine Starling from Unite said "This has really taken the wind out of our sails. We'll fight for the best conditions for those losing their jobs."

The Cheltenham and Bishops Cleeve sites were formerly owned by Smiths Industries and sold to General Electric in May 2007.

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