MORE than 250 staff at Boscombe Down learned their jobs were at risk yesterday as defence technology firm QinetiQ looks to cut over 100 staff from its workforce.

The announcement comes ahead of a restructure at the aircraft testing facility that will see the firm start servicing civilian instead of military planes.

There will be 111 redundancies, some in three months’ time and others after 18 months.

The Journal has learned 251 people, from the more than 1,300 members of staff, have been told their jobs are at risk.

A source said: “The mood at the site is a mixture at the moment some of the old boys had been waiting for redundancy to take early retirement, whereas some of the younger people are asking ‘why did they take me on?’”

The source said it did not come as a shock to some staff after the company announced last week it would be replacing the type of aircraft it services.

Another said that with the new civil aircrafts contracts coming in contractors will be bought in to work on the site. 

They added: "Everyone got a letter yesterday outlining what areas were affected, and for two days no maitenance has been taking place as morale is low." 

It is expected that the current military jets including Alpha Jets and Hawks will be replaced with civilian aircraft to be maintained by civilians.

A QinetiQ spokesperson said:“QinetiQ is investing £70m into a new fleet for the Empire Test Pilots School as part of a deal with the UK MOD to modernise Test Aircrew Training and secure its future until 2028.

“As a result, the demands on our Air Engineering Team will change as the old fleet is decommissioned and the new fleet comes into service.

“To allow us to asses our future engineering and fleet management needs we have started an 18 month consultation with 251 employees to review, assess and design how we meet the new requirements. This may result in a reduction of approximately 100 roles.

“Given the long period of the consultation, our priority is to work with those affected and try to minimise redundancies.”  

Salisbury MP John Glen said: “My sympathies go to those who are at risk at this difficult time but I am hoping decisions can be made swiftly and the numbers of compulsory redundancies can be small.

"I remain very optimistic about the opportunities that with exist between Boeing and QinetiQ together at Boscombe into the future.

“The changes will set the business ready for growth opportunities in the future.”

It comes after the Journal reported in February that up to 1,500 high-quality engineering jobs will be created as Boeing Defence UK is set to create a “centre of excellence” at Boscombe Down.

The company will base its UK operations at the Ministry of Defence airbase near Amesbury.