Danny Carrigan: "Extremely disappointed"

The cuts follow the announcement last month that Rolls-Royce planned to axe almost 4,000 jobs in the UK - blaming the downturn in the airline industry.

The company said it expected sales of its commercial aircraft engines to fall by a third next year and its revenue could fall by �1bn.

The job losses at Hillington - which will account for about a third of the workforce - were higher than expected.

Enterprise Minister Wendy Alexander has promised the Scottish Executive's full support to Rolls-Royce workers.

Some union representatives have voiced fears that the cuts could not be achieved by voluntary redundancies alone.

Lobbying parliament

But Danny Carrigan, regional secretary of the Amalgamated Electrical and Engineering Union (AEEU), said the union would "not accept" compulsory redundancies.

And he said Scottish workers planned to take part in a UK-wide lobby of the Westminster parliament next week.

Mr Carrigan said the union was "extremely disappointed" with the cuts.

"Given that the company has recently received big orders from Emirates Airways and the US defence department we hoped this would have dramatically reduced the numbers to go," he said.

Our main concern is to ensure that everything possible is done to help those affected find alternative employment

Wendy Alexander

He added that the Ministry of Defence should be looking to bring forward aircraft orders to the beleaguered aerospace industry.

Ms Alexander promised that the unique skills developed in the industry would not be lost to the wider economy.

"Our main concern is to ensure that everything possible is done to help those affected find alternative employment," she said.

A response team has been formed which will be on hand to offer advice, support and guidance on retraining and new employment opportunities.

Five weeks ago, Rolls-Royce announced it was cutting 4,000 jobs following the terror attacks in the United States and the subsequent crisis in the airline sector.

Almost 2,000 jobs are to be cut in Derby, with around three-quarters of those going by March next year.

Compulsory redundancies

About 300 jobs are being cut at Rolls-Royce at Barnoldswick in East Lancashire and more in plants throughout the UK.

The aviation company said it could not rule out compulsory redundancies.

It said it would make the cuts through voluntary severance, early retirement, re-training and re-deployment, where possible.

The company has Scottish plants in East Kilbride, Hillington and Dalgety Bay, which employ about 2,900 people.

The company said it was looking at the possibility of closing the Hillington plant and moving to a greenfield site near Glasgow.