DEFENCE research firm Qinetiq, which has a site at Boscombe Down, has warned job cuts are likely as it reveals plans for a major programme of cuts.

The cutting edge company aims to slash costs by 10 per cent and warned job cuts were likely as a result, although it has said none of these losses are currently planned to be at the Boscombe site and it is not yet known how many will be through voluntary redundancies.

Based in Farnborough, Qinetiq employs about 7,000 in the UK out of a total worldwide staff of 13,000, and also has sites in Hampshire, in Gosport and at Portsdown near Wickham.

The firm, formerly the state-owned Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, specialises in everything from flight controls for military planes to robot mine clearance devices and a 3D measuring system for shoe retailer Clarks.

A move into the US has proved less of a money-spinner than hoped, while delays in orders from the Ministry of Defence have added to its woes as annual profits fell to £85m from £130m a year earlier.

Boss Leo Quinn, who took the helm in November, said: "Our markets are likely to remain uncertain for some time, but we now have a decisive programme of self-help to restore value.

"We are acting to make our costs more competitive, our productivity better and our debt lower."

Qinetiq can trace its heritage from the birth of powered flight in the UK at Farnborough through the development of radar during the Second World War.