UK authorities set to approve new Leonardo army deal, saving 1000’s of jobs | EUROtoday

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is poised to award a vital contract to Italian defence firm Leonardo, securing the way forward for Britain’s final army helicopter manufacturing web site and safeguarding 3,000 jobs.

A Treasury supply confirmed on Friday that the deal will forestall the closure of Leonardo’s Yeovil facility in southwest England, which the agency had threatened with out a new settlement.

The deal, price as much as £1 billion, had confronted uncertainty simply days earlier than a 1 March deadline.

A Treasury supply indicated Ms Reeves felt compelled to intervene, guaranteeing UK defence spending protects British enterprise and employment.

“She wasn’t going to let this deal collapse under her watch,” the supply added.

It is known Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer had chosen to intervene in response to the Ministry of Defence deprioritising the venture as a part of the Defence Investment Plan.

The authorised contract will see 23 medium-lift assist helicopters acquired, fewer than the 44 initially outlined in a 2022 authorities discover.

A spokesperson for Leonardo declined to remark.

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A separate supply instructed Reuters Leonardo’s tender supply expires on 1 March, including that additional talks between the federal government and Leonardo had been probably within the coming days.

Sky News had reported earlier that defence minister John Healey had been resulting from go to the manufacturing unit in Yeovil on Thursday to announce the deal however pulled out as a result of the finance ministry had but to signal it off.

The authorities has beforehand stated it wanted to finalise its defence funding plan earlier than it may award the helicopter contract.

That plan has been delayed from the autumn amid media hypothesis a few 28 billion pound ($38 billion) gap within the army price range, regardless of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s pledges to spice up defence spending.

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The Yeovil facility dates again to 1915, when it was generally known as Westland and made planes utilized in World War One. It pivoted to helicopters within the Fifties and has just lately produced the Merlin and Apache helicopters.

As nicely as the three,000 jobs on web site, an extra 9,000 jobs within the provide chain are supported by the manufacturing unit, with many workers working throughout the city, Somerset and neighbouring Dorset.