The Royal Navy's 500 Year-Old Shipyard At Portsmouth To Shut Down Effective Ending Britain From Building Warships In England

BAE To Stop Building Ships At Historic British Site -- New York Times

LONDON — As an island nation that once built an empire by sea, Britain has a proud history and longstanding expertise in shipbuilding.

But buffeted by cuts in military spending and a decline in demand, the country’s biggest military contractor, BAE Systems, said Wednesday that it would end more than five centuries of shipbuilding in the southern English city of Portsmouth and cut nearly 1,800 jobs across Britain.

The announcement prompted opponents of Prime Minister David Cameron to accuse him of playing politics with an industry intertwined with the country’s history.

The company is finishing a large order worth several billion pounds to build two aircraft carriers, which had created the largest shipbuilding boom for the company since World War II, by some measures. With that order coming to an end, layoffs had been expected. But the scale of the cuts, worked out in a restructuring plan with the government, came as a surprise.

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More News On BAE Closing The Portsmouth Shipyards

Portsmouth shipyard to close as BAE cuts 1,775 jobs -- The Telegraph
BAE Systems cuts 1,775 jobs at English and Scottish shipyards -- BBC
Shipbuilding at Portsmouth to end after more than 500 years as 1,775 jobs are axed by BAE Systems -- Daily Mail
BAE Systems cuts jobs and ends Portsmouth shipbuilding -- Reuters
500 year-old shipyard that is home of British Royal Navy to shut -- FOX News/AP
Historic British shipyard shut as defence cuts bite -- AFP
U.K. Shuts Henry VIII Shipyard as Navy Work Goes to Scotland -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Portsmouth's long shipbuilding history comes to an end -- BBC