The West Country town staring into a jobs abyss ...Middle East

On the runway at the Royal Navy’s huge Yeovilton air base in Somerset, three Merlin helicopters prepare to take off, their engines growling. At the back of the aerodrome, a Wildcat has just landed, but its rotors are still whirring. Perhaps it’s been tracking a Russian ship in the Channel.

At the edge of the airfield is the impressive Fleet Air Arm Museum, where children dart in between its historic helicopters. They include a Sea King that survived Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, and a Wessex that still bears the scars of Argentinian gunfire during the Falklands War.

All these machines, whether in service now or on display, were made just down the road in Yeovil at the UK’s only military helicopter factory. But could the manufacturing plant be about to close?

The facility, owned by the Italian defence giant Leonardo, has warned it may have to shut if it is not awarded a £1bn contract to supply new medium-sized helicopters for the British Army and Royal Air Force.

As well as a major blow for the UK defence industry, that would be devastating news for 3,000 people working at the factory, which covers hundreds of acres right in the town’s heart.

Another 12,000 people are employed by companies in its supply chain across south-west England.

“It’s totally integral to this town,” says Ben Clarke, who has worked at the plant for two decades. His grandfather, uncle and step-dad were all employed here.Clarke, now a full-time Unite union convenor at the site, says the closure risk is “a talking point for everyone”. He believes the decision remains “50:50”.

Many other business owners are worried about the knock-on effects. Shaun Whitehouse, who owns the Lanes hotel just outside Yeovil, estimates that 70 per cent of his midweek customers are visiting Leonardo or its suppliers. “The site supports the area’s whole ecosystem: restaurants, taxis and local shops. Everyone is intrinsically linked to it.”

While waiting for news, “there have been some desperate days where I’ve thought: this is the end for our business.” Whitehouse met Leonardo’s managing director recently and told him: “If you go, we close the next day.”

How contract uncertainty threatens the factory

The Westland factory opened in Yeovil in 1915. It produced fixed-wing aircraft that flew in both world wars, before specialising in helicopters in the 1940s, when they were still a new invention.

It has survived many crises in the past – including the 1980s Westland Affair, when a row over its future led Michael Heseltine to resign from Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet – and has been owned by Leonardo since 2000.

It has just developed an experimental model named Proteus which flew for the first time last month, piloted entirely by AI rather than a human.

The town is proud of this rotor-bladed heritage. Stepping off trains at Yeovil Junction station, passengers are greeted by signs celebrating “the home of British helicopters”.

In recent times, however, Yeovil has had to make do with maintaining existing aircraft rather than building new ones.

Leonardo expected a big order from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to finally be placed last year, as it was – and still is – the only company bidding for the UK’s New Medium Helicopter contract.

Its AW149 model is capable of firing rockets and laser-guided missiles, transporting 16 fully armed troops, and conducting surveillance or rescue missions. It was designed in Yeovil and more than 60 per cent of parts for the contract would be made here.

Yet the MoD has continually deferred any announcement on making an order, despite being left with no other choice but to perform vital roles.

That led Leonardo’s CEO, Roberto Cingolani, to warn in November that the firm “cannot subsidise Yeovil forever” and “should consider why we keep a plant there”.

He wanted confirmation either way by the end of 2025, but the MoD now says that may not come until the end of March. A spokesperson admits that “no final procurement decisions have yet been made”.

Asked by The i Paper if the MoD has offered any reassurances or told him the cause of the delays, Leonardo’s vice president Adam Wardrope – a former Chinook pilot who has worked at the MoD himself – says: “No. I don’t know.”

Why Yeovil wants action

In a back room at his town-centre office, local MP Adam Dance cannot hide his fury when we begin discussing the factory.

“The Treasury and the MoD haven’t been talking enough,” he claims. “They can’t make their minds up.” He worries that the Chancellor Rachel Reeves “is saying the money’s not there”.

Dance, a Liberal Democrat elected in 2024, thinks that not going ahead with the contract would be “ludicrous” for the military, making it so much harder to “get troops on the ground” in vital operations.

Although he doubts the factory would close overnight, Dance fears Leonardo “will have to make considerable redundancies within the next year” if it does not receive the contract.

Average pay at the site is well over £50,000 – “a huge wage for Yeovil”, Dance says – and the loss of skilled jobs on that kind of money impacts whole families.

Local NHS leaders have informed the MP that recruiting and retaining medics for the area’s hospitals will be more challenging if Leonardo leaves, as engineers may move away to find other jobs and any partners working in healthcare will also depart, making it harder to attract replacements.

Yeovil’s high street has struggled in recent years. Plenty of big chains are still there – M&S, Boots, Robert Dyas and HMV – but the number of empty stores is sad for residents, with one admitting the place is a “s***hole”. They hope a five-year regeneration plan will make big improvements. Still, a Leonardo departure – eliminating an annual £320m from local GDP – would make it harder to win investment from retailers.

The local property market is already being affected, says Dance. Homes are not selling “because people are worried about their jobs” and house prices have fallen.

Mark Bolton, principal of Yeovil College, says 130 of his students are serving as apprentices at the factory. The high-tech work there generates a “culture of high ambition and innovation that pervades across the town”, he believes. The true impact of a closure is “hard to imagine”.

Concerns about the future of the local arts centre have also been raised by councillors. Leonardo owns the freehold for the Westlands Entertainment Venue, where entertainers due to perform in the coming weeks include Sara Pascoe, Paul Merton and Sue Perkins.

The facility’s management do not wish to comment, but residents enjoying live music in the bar on a wet Wednesday night are worried. Midway through her recitals of pop songs and Bond themes, pianist Caroline Wallis-Newport pauses to tell me: “If the factory closes, Yeovil is done for.”

Whitehouse, the hotel owner, says some people hope Leonardo is bluffing to pressure the MoD. “One of my employees said that his father, who was a lifer down at Westland, was threatened with redundancy four times during his career there but was never made redundant.” However, he suspects this colleague was “just trying to give me hope”.

Are drones making officials rethink spending?

Sir Keir Starmer said this month that the UK must “spend more, faster” on its military. Leonardo therefore hopes for good news when the Government’s delayed Defence Investment Plan is eventually published, following last year’s Strategic Defence Review.

The country’s biggest weapons firm, BAE Systems, has also been frustrated by hold-ups in Whitehall, calling for procurement verdicts “as soon as possible”. The Conservatives’ shadow Defence Secretary, Mark Francois, said in December that firms “will rightly be furious” at slow decision-making.

The MoD points out it has signed more than 1,100 major contracts since July and the Government is planning the largest sustained increase in military spending since the Cold War, which will rise to 2.6 per cent of GDP from next year. Ministers have pledged they won’t allow the helicopter contract to “time out”.

On a tour of the factory to show off Proteus, Leonardo’s team try to sound optimistic about Yeovil’s future. The autonomous prototype was designed, built and programmed here by a team of 200 people. They hope the Royal Navy will order a bigger operational version to carry out surveillance missions without putting any humans at risk.

It’s been reported that technological advancements like this – and the swift evolution of drones during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – are causing the MoD to wonder if it’s worth buying more conventional helicopters now, if AI-piloted aircraft are the future.

Clarke, the union representative, says he has met government officials who have suggested uncrewed machines are now their priority.

But Wardrope points out that no drone is remotely capable of the various roles the AW149 can carry out. He is proud of Proteus but says it “will never replace a crewed helicopter carrying troops around the battlefields – there will always be a need for that”.

Your next read

Pensioners threaten to stop paying BBC licence fee if TV goes online only

Two student loan changes considered by Treasury to tackle debt crisis

The moment Trump caught his enemies in a perfect trap – and why it won’t save him

How William’s fury at Andrew could end in royal exile for Beatrice and Eugenie

He points out that Yeovil remains essential for servicing UK helicopters. He hopes that if the UK orders the AW149, it will spur export orders.

In the meantime, Wardrope concedes, “it’s very difficult to plan when there’s uncertainty”.

@robhastings.bsky.social

Hence then, the article about the west country town staring into a jobs abyss was published today ( Wednesday 25/02/2026 - 05:03 PM ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The West Country town staring into a jobs abyss )

Also on site :

• Lauren Chapin, the Youngest Kid on ‘Father Knows Best,’ Dies at 80
• Angel Reese Stuns With Daring Pregame Outfit
• Wynn Resorts faces second lawsuit after data breach incident involving employees