Westland and GKN – update
Interestingly we approached Westland to ask if they intended making the frames for the WildCat helicopters in Yeovil once the work was withdrawn from GKN’s factory in the town. This might still be the case and if so would mean that the closure of GKN would not necessarily be quite so devastating for the town and presumably quite a few GKN workers would be rehired by Westland.
We didn’t get a response from Westland but we have just received a statement from Lord Ashdown:
“I am informed that the MoD, apparently, owns the tooling and jigs to make the Wild Cat helicopter.
If this is the case then the Government should use this as a lever to insist that the work lost at GKN should moved to the main Yeovil site and not sent elsewhere, perhaps even Poland. If they do then many of these local jobs and skills can remain in the area and Britain’s ability to build its own helicopters can be secured. If they do not, then all this talk of an industrial strategy is just empty words.”