THOUSANDS of East Lancashire workers were starting work under a new name today.
The £7billion merger between British Aerospace and GEC's Marconi Electronic Systems was completed creating a new company called BAe Systems.
The deal, which was announced in January, has had to wait for approval from authorities in the UK and Europe, and was last week given the green light from the US.
It is now the joint-third largest aerospace and defence company in the world and the second largest defence contractor.
Ahead of it in size is Boeing and Lockheed Martin of the US.
The new name - BAe Systems - will see the word "British" drop from the group's title for the first time in 21 years, reflecting the company's transformation from a British to an international group.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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