Around 1,800 jobs are being cut across UK engineering firm Meggitt's global operations to slash costs as coronavirus hits the civil aerospace sector hard.

The group, which makes parts used in planes, said it was axing around 15% of its 12,000-strong worldwide workforce in response to a slump in civil aerospace demand.

It said it was too early to comment on where the jobs would be cut.

Meggitt employs 2,500 people in the UK and around 6,500 in the US, with other global operations in countries including China, France, Vietnam and Singapore.

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Meggitt, which recently relocated its head office from Bournemouth Airport to Ansty Park near Coventry, said: "To mitigate the reduction in demand, we have already taken action to reduce variable costs including accessing furlough schemes where available and reducing temporary labour.

"While we recognise the need to retain flexibility as demand patterns develop over the coming months, we have taken the difficult decision to reduce the size of our global workforce by around 15%, subject to ongoing consultation in the regions in which we operate.

"This action will ensure that our internal capacity across our civil aerospace business reflects the reduction in demand and positions us appropriately as we enter 2021."

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has said it plans to resume work on its construction sites from May 4.

It comes after it ordered its sites, show homes and sales centres to be closed in March, as the coronavirus outbreak gathered pace.

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The company said it will re-start activity on the majority of its sites in England and Wales using "detailed new site operating protocols developed in compliance with strict social distancing requirements".

Taylor Wimpey said trading has "inevitably been impacted" by the virus, but demand has continued, with sales teams continuing remotely.

The firm said its order book increased to £2.67 billion to the week of April 19, up from £2.4 billion a year earlier.

Chief executive Pete Redfern said: "Our first priority is always the health and safety of our customers, employees, sub-contractors and suppliers.

"We took an early decision at the end of March to close our sites while we assessed in detail how to build homes without compromising on health and safety or quality.

"We are now confident that we have clear plans and processes in place so we can safely start back on site in a phased way beginning on May 4."

Elsewhere, rival Vistry Group said it will re-start work on 90% of its partnership sites and a "significant number" of housing sites from the start of next week.

The company, which was recently renamed from Bovis Homes, also said it had received 80 cancellations and completed 193 private sales following the pandemic.

UK business output dived at its fastest rate on record this month on the back of widespread shutdowns in response to the coronavirus outbreak, according to new figures.

The closely watched IHS Markit/CIPS Flash UK composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) plunged to a reading of 12.9 for April, from a reading of 36 last month.

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The monthly decline in manufacturing and services activity exceeded the downturn seen at the height of the global financial crisis "by a wide margin", the survey said.

 

 

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said: "Business closures and social distancing measures have caused business activity to collapse at a rate vastly exceeding that seen even during the global financial crisis, confirming fears that GDP will slump to a degree previously thought unimaginable in the second quarter due to measures taken to contain the spread of the virus.

"Simple historical comparisons of the PMI with GDP indicate that the April survey reading is consistent with GDP falling at a quarterly rate of approximately 7%. The actual decline in GDP could be even greater, in part because the PMI excludes the vast majority of the self-employed and the retail sector, which have been especially hard-hit by the Covid-19 containment measures."

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