BOSSES considering redundancies as part of a restructuring plan today blamed the September 11 attacks.

MB Aerospace Ltd, which employs 65 people in Burnley, has denied claims that it is about to pull out of the town, although bosses admitted they have entered into consultations with the workforce to discuss a restructuring plan that may include some redundancies.

MB Aerospace, which is part of Motherwell Bridge Group and has its headquarters in Scotland, took over the former TRW operations at Heasandford three years ago.

The facility, originally part of Lucas Aerospace, specialises in assembly and machining work on missile and defence programmes for BAE Systems, Boeing and other defence sector clients.

Speaking from Farnborough International Air Show, where the company is exhibiting this week in a bid to win new business, managing director Bernie Phimister said rumours of closure in Burnley were wide of the mark, although consultation with the workforce about restructuring the business was under way.

He said that the company had set targets for its machine shop following the acquisition, which contributes a proportion of the site revenue, but the downturn in the industry meant that the actual figure achieved fell short of that originally forecast:

"It was beginning to pick up a bit before September 11, but after that we have not seen a sustainable recovery. Despite our best efforts and considerable investment we are not going to be able to sustain the operation as it is currently organised. We are one of very few aerospace manufacturing operations in the area that haven't so far had to cut back."

Mr Phimister said there were several possibilities, but the intention was to develop the Burnley facilities core skills of assembly, test and associated work and develop a centre of excellence based on those competences.

On the assembly and test side of the business, the company works on defence programmes and is confident of securing further work in this area. It is currently searching for new state of art premises in the Burnley area which would be better suited to the needs of the future business.

Mr Phimister added "We are not able to say exactly what will happen at this stage, as we want a genuine consultation with the people in Burnley. Various possibilities are still under consideration and we hope that by acting now the business will emerge stronger and grow in the long run."