MALVERN’S MP Harriett Baldwin is calling for urgent talks to discuss the impact of large scale redundancies at QinetiQ and help plan to prevent further job losses at the site.

The defence contractor is set to shed about 260 staff from its St Andrew’s Road site when a consultation period ends in October.

Mrs Baldwin this week set out an action plan calling for a series of meetings with local authority chiefs and representatives from QinetiQ. She is also scheduled to meet with the firm’s chief executive Leo Quinn next month.

“For the last few months I have been talking with the senior staff at QinetiQ as they conducted a business review under the leadership of a new chief executive,” she said. “I have been worried by the job losses and very concerned about the impact this will have both on Malvern people and the businesses who work alongside QinetiQ who may need to make cuts.

“I will be meeting with local authority representatives and local academic organisations to see what we can do to lessen the impact of these cuts and meet with QinetiQ themselves to discuss the overall problem.”

QinetiQ is cutting more than 700 scientific and research jobs nationally in the face of a “challenging business environment” and cuts in the MoD’s research budget.

As well as addressing the impact of the current position, Mrs Baldwin is seeking assurances that steps are being taken to prevent similar situations in the future.

“I will want some assurances from QinetiQ that its strategic review will lead to a stronger company, free from the need for further cuts and the commitment to the long term security of the Malvern site and its staff,” she said.

* Mrs Baldwin also visited Malvern’s new community hospital at Seaford Court this week. On Monday (August 13) she enjoyed a guided tour of the new facility, which is nearing completion ahead of its opening at the end of the year.