AEROSPACE giant BAE Systems today axed 132 jobs at its high tech plant at Samlesbury.

The company said it had begun talks with the trade unions over the redundancies at its Air Systems and Aerostructures business units.

BAE Systems, which employs around 4,000 people at Samlesbury, said a review of the site's operations showed it was overmanned.

Steve Worlock, director of Samlesbury Advanced Manufacturing, said: "It is always regrettable when job losses become necessary and we will work closely with employee representatives to mitigate the impact of these losses.

"Samlesbury possesses world class engineering and manufacturing capabilities and is key to BAE Systems' involvement in both the Typhoon and JSF programmes.

"Over recent years, we have seen over £100million worth of investment at Samlesbury and it is imperative we utilise this investment effectively."