BAE staff vote to save jobs in Warton and Samlesbury

Workers at BAE Systems in Lancashire have voted overwhelmingly to lose a day's pay each month to help save jobs.

More than 2,000 shop-floor workers from Warton and Samlesbury voted at a meeting in Blackpool.

Russell Moorhouse, from the Works Committee at Warton, said the savings would stop any compulsory redundancies.

In January the firm said that more than half the 1,400 jobs under threat in Lancashire had been cut without compulsory redundancies.

Mick Darlington, from the Unite union, said the decision was "marvellous news", adding that "people can sleep easy tonight now".

Japan blow

After the announcement of the vote result, defence firm Lockheed Martin confirmed that an existing 30-year deal with BAE to supply 3,000 Joint Strike Fighter planes would continue with production expected to increase in the future.

Work on the Lockheed Martin order will primarily be carried out at the BAE Systems site at Samlesbury, where the fuselage and other structural components will be made.

About 130 other associated companies are set to benefit from the deal.

Hundreds of BAE workers have already taken voluntary redundancy following a slowdown in orders for the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter.

In December, BAE Systems lost out on an $8bn (£5.1bn) deal to supply jets to Japan, and it is set to lose a contract for the Indian Air Force.

The Indian government has chosen a French fighter produced by the Dassault company.