30.09.11
MoD cuts 1,000 Royal Navy jobs
The Royal Navy has issued its first 1,000 redundancy notices as part of a move by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to cut 22,000 armed forces jobs by 2015 to save £5bn. The Royal Navy is cutting its manpower by 5,000 to 30,000.
A voluntary redundancy scheme was offered, with 810 applicants taking it up. However, this was not enough, so the remainder are being forced to leave. Earlier this month 920 soldiers and 930 RAF personnel were informed they were being made redundant. The MoD is also cutting 25,000 civilian staff over the next four years.
An MoD spokesman said: “We need to structure our forces to ensure that they are sufficiently flexible and adaptable to meet the demands of an uncertain future.
“The decisions we are making are not easy but they will help to defend the UK, protect our interests overseas and enable us to work effectively with allies and partners to deliver greater security and stability in the wider world.”
Those either on or preparing for operations, and those on operative leave, will not be affected by the cuts, the MoD said. The next round of redundancies will take place in March.
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