BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...-west-24831779

Depressing! It's hard not to see it as a political move.:(

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

Indeed you have summed it up perfectly because in my opinion the vast majority of these job losses will be in Portsmouth and we all know why that is as politicians use political expediency which is adherence to their own self-serving means .:(:td:

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

If, and it's a very big if, Scotland does have a collective bout of madness next year and votes yes that will put a big question mark over the future of the navy in England, Wales and N.I. as they'll need to either buy ships from Scotland or abroad and find a new home for the nuclear deterrent.

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

... and that'll mean more jobs in England - cheers Alex.

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

It'll mean a HUGE bill to create a suitable base for nuclear subs and another huge bill to retrain and re-equip a suitable workforce to built modern warships.

Plus as far as I know current navy bases are too close to major population centres to be refitted as suitable homes for nuclear subs so a new bases would have to be built plus a replacement for Coulport to store the warheads.

All in the kind of expense that might well make a nuclear deterrent too expensive to maintain.

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

All major works come with a huge bill and lots of jobs too. I don't think the Scots are stupid enough to buy into Salmond's rhetoric and they'd hate to be without the English to blame for all their ills... ;)

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/def...risk-1-5654099

A local take on the announcement.

---------- Post added at 12:25 ---------- Previous post was at 12:18 ----------

However! An further announcement.

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/def...outh-1-5652792

Mind the important word is 'could'.

Ah Mr Cameron has said it will be so in the Commons PMQs

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

I just hope that all the expertise there isn't going to be lost in one way or another. Building houses for more people is one thing but we really need to stop losing the industries which employ them when the houses are built.

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

You can build as many houses as you like... but if there are no jobs... who's going to buy and live in them!!

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

If Scotland did split the new ship would be built in England, and NOT Scotland.

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

They have given Glasgow 3 new ships to build, why not just 2 to them and 1 to Portsmouth, sorted, untill they know what's going on

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

What a disgrace this country has become. The powers that be could have got work of a different nature for the docks e.g. repair or build (not even military orders) new ships.
I am so sorry for the skilled lads and ladies in Portsmouth and Scotland who will loose their jobs. Lord Nelson now has two eye patches.

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

That's what i was thinking closing a shipyard and replacing it with 200 houses and a retail center with people earning minimum wage is really an embarrassment for the workers and the country imo

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

well as and when they build the houes and retail center, i bet non of the worker will be from the portsmouth area anyway

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

It just goes to prove what a disgraceful government we have.

They are closing down Portsmouth and moving it to Glasgow, and if this isn't political l dont know what is.

Even the first sea lord has said its is all political.

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

Don't forget Newcastle BAE closes at the end of this year. I used to work there.

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

I bet anything that the government will awards contracts to build Navy warships overseas.

What is wrong with Cameron. This country is already under strength in the armed services, and they want to take on more volunteers, what will they do to get ships if we need them - hire them from France.

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

Sadly there is a lack of major conflict that requires the mobilization of large navies and our navy is as big as it needs to be so we don't need any new ships apart from the ones already on order hence the need to close one of the ship yards .Lack of war is a bit of a bugger


I would have thought that BAE would have kept Portsmouth open since Scotland is building the 2 new carriers

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

RN ships must be built in the UK. That's the rule.

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

It's the 800 years of history just written off that upsets me. I suppose the home of the Victory,Mary Rose and The Warrior will just become a huge historical park eventually.What the hell they can do with a site that's littered with graded historic buildings? It's not going to be a site that can be redeveloped for housing or retail.

http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/do...clandmarks.php

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

There's no room for sentiment in big business.

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

Business has little do do with this decision..it's purely political.

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

If warship building were governed by purely business considerations, we would be buying all our ships from yards in the far East and Portsmouth would have shut down years ago. Politics is the only reason there are any shipbuilding jobs left to lose in Portsmouth. If you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

The politics of it are, that said, slightly more complex than the simplistic claim that it's about trying to influence the referendum, and let's not forget that BAe did have a say in this, so there are business considerations in there somewhere. BBC Scotland's Brian Taylor is worth a read on this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-24839564

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

The MOD are masters at fiddling figures to prove whatever they want. When scrutinised they'll hide behind 'commercial confidentiality' and 'national security'. If costs suddenly double for any project they get away with it - no other Govt. Dept would.

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

It'd be nice to have a breakdown of the extra costs associated with the carrier contracts to see where they've occurred. There's no doubt the uncertainty re the choice of aircraft was a factor but what else?

---------- Post added at 09:38 ---------- Previous post was at 09:37 ----------


Wonder if the final cost will be double? :shrug:

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

Which, if true (and asided from specification changes etc.) would seem to ndicate that cost overruns are down to factors to do with the companies, working practices and labour rather than loose contracts. :confused:

Re: BAE Systems shipyards: Shipbuilding 'to stop' at Portsmouth
 

I have mixed feeling here, I feel for the people who will be loosing their jobs.

But... This is another example where job losses are brought to the public attention and sympathy is dished out for political reasons.

There are other companies in the defence industry, some similar sizes and some smaller that have made larger numbers and larger percentages of employees redundant, but these have gone unnoticed for alternative political reasons.