Meggitt job losses feared in wake of £6.3bn takeover

The US company buying Meggitt for £6.3bn has guaranteed jobs at the defence contractor for only one year despite pledging to be a “responsible steward”.

The board of the FTSE 250 company has recommended the 800p a share from Parker Hannifin, which represents a 71pc premium to Friday’s 469p closing price but is only 15pc higher than their pre-pandemic level.

Meggitt makes components and sub-systems such as brakes used on more than 70,000 civil and military aircraft worldwide. A quarter of its 9,000 staff are in the UK across 39 sites. 

Parker said it would offer legally binding commitments to help secure the deal such as keeping the combined business’s headquarters in the UK, maintaining all existing divisions and R&D, product engineering and manufacturing staff levels.

However, Tom Williams, the Parker chief executive, conceded the promises were only valid for a year, apart from those concerning R&D that would last for five.

He called the undertakings “the best in class, the right things to run the business successfully in the UK. These are serious commitments that people should feel comfortable with.”