BAE Systems Announces Closure of Pinzgauer Manufacturing in the UK

BAE Systems, FARNBOROUGH, UK: BAE Systems plans to discontinue the production of the Pinzgauer 1 vehicle and close its manufacturing facilities at Guildford and Fareham, with the potential loss of up to 102 jobs. 
 
The plans are based on a thorough review of current and future potential workload, the current cost base of Pinzgauer vehicle production, duplication of capability across BAE Systems sites, and how the product fits within BAE Systems’ wheeled vehicle strategy. 
 
The Company plans to establish a new Pinzgauer support business – as part of its successful military vehicle support business – at the Guildford site that will retain a core team of about 25 people to continue supporting Pinzgauer fleets, primarily in the UK and New Zealand. 
 
BAE Systems acquired Pinzgauer in August 2007 as part of the Armor Holdings acquisition. 
 
The development of the new Pinzgauer 2 vehicle will be transitioned to the BAE Systems South Africa business, which has the infrastructure to continue to develop, manufacture and market these light utility vehicles. 
 
Assembly of the final Pinzgauer 1 and Vector vehicles for the UK Ministry of Defence will be carried out at Guildford and Fareham, and will be completed at another BAE Systems site, which remains to be confirmed. 
 
BAE Systems will enter consultation with employees as soon as feasible on these plans. Where possible, every effort will be made to mitigate any job losses through redeployment of employees within BAE Systems. To help employees seeking suitable alternative employment, an outplacement support service will be established.  
 
BAE Systems is the premier global defence and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. With 96,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems' sales exceeded £15 billion (US $27 billion) in 2006, on a pro forma basis, assuming BAE Systems had owned Armor Holdings Inc for the whole of 2006.