A West Midlands aeronautical firm has announced it is to shed more than 1000 jobs.

TRW Aeronautical Systems, based in Solihull, near Birmingham, is the latest casualty of the terrorist attacks on America.

In the UK, 670 people will lose jobs across nine sites - 300 temporary staff will go immediately with 70% of the remaining job cuts implemented by early next year.

The company has blamed the job losses on a downturn in business caused by the events on 11 September.

'Difficult time'

TRW, which used to be known as Lucas Aerospace, said that while the full impact of 11 September is still unclear, there has been a marked decrease in demand.

Ken Maciver, president and chief executive officer of the company, said: "The coming months will be a very difficult time for our company as we make the necessary adjustments to remain competitive in a rapidly changing environment.

"However, TRW Aeronautical Systems' business is built on strong foundations and the company has won more new business this year than ever before.

"Any action that is taken will be considered very carefully to preserve the long-term future of our business and to continue to meet our existing commitments."

The company has six sites in the West Midlands as well as offices in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, Huyton, Merseyside and Belfast.

TRW intends to cut its employment costs by 16%, which will mean a reduction in the existing workforce of 6,900 to 5,800.

The job losses in both full time and temporary staff will be spread across the company's 48 offices and manufacturing outlets around the world - it is not known how many will go in which offices.

It is hoped as many of the posts as possible will be lost through voluntary redundancy and early retirement.