TWO hundred senior bosses at BAE Systems in Lancashire are to lose their jobs - and unions fear more cuts could be on the way.

The job cuts, blamed on the merger between British Aerospace and Marconi, will be spread across the firm's Samlesbury and Warton sites where more than 10,000 people are employed.

Cuts among senior managers have been expected since the merger but now union leaders at Samlesbury fear other grades could now be under threat.

BAE Systems said the cuts announced were necessary to reduce costs.

"The company has begun consultation with the groups of people affected and we are putting in place a range of support measures to help people who are displaced seek employment elsewehere in BAE Systems or in other companies," said a sopkesman for the firm.

When the merger between BAE Systems and Marconi was announced the firm warned that there would have to be management job losses to make the new company more efficient.

"We are reviewing all aspects of the business and examining the savings and efficiencies that can be delivered across the whole of the new company in order to make continuous improvements to our competitiveness in world markets."

There will also be 40 job losses at sister factory in Brough. Frank Gornall, chairman of the MSF union at Samlesbury, said he was concerned that there could be more job losses later this year.

"Although these cuts only affect executives our fear is that it won't stop there. We already have a voluntary redundancy situation here and we fear there could be more to come."

Last week BAE Systems said the merger of Marconi's electronic systems business with the former British Aerospace was on track to beat original cost saving forecasts.

The comments came as the firm announced a jump in profits for 1999 to £790million - up more than 11 per cent on last year.

Chief executive John Weston said the integration programme at the firm, which employs more than 10,000 at Samlesbury and Warton sites in Lancashire, would see annual savings beat the £275million originally anticipated by 2002.

He described the new look merged company as already being a "lean organisation."

BAe completed the acquisition of Marconi Electronic Systems from the then-GEC last November.

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