A BLACKBURN defence firm is to shed almost 10per cent of its workforce in a cost-cutting measure.

Cobham Defence Communications said the majority of the 19 redundancies will come from its manufacturing side.

The company makes communication equipment for military vehicles at its base in Haslingden Road.

General manager Steve Collier said a downturn in contracts has meant that staff levels needed to be reduced.

He said a two-week consultation has now started, and it is hoped that many of the job losses will come from voluntary redundancies.

There are 200 workers at the Blackburn site.

Mr Collier said: “Business has been successful in the last couple of years and there has been a lot of growth in the company. We have now got to the stage where some of the orders we were expecting have been delayed, meaning we need to cut back on the workforce.

“There are a lot of good opportunities in the future for us and we hope that this cutback is all we need to do.”

He said that as part of the consultation period he will be doing ‘everything he can’ to make sure the 19 losses are not compulsory.

Cobham Defence Communications employs 3,280 people around the world, including the UK, USA, France, Canada, Denmark, and South Africa.