The UK Government is poised to approve a £1 billion contract with helicopter manufacturer Leonardo, assuring the security of thousands of jobs at its UK plant in Yeovil, Somerset.
For weeks, Leonardo’s facility—known as the country’s only end-to-end rotary wing manufacturer—faced uncertainty as the Government deliberated on whether to proceed with the deal to supply a new fleet of defence helicopters.
Reports indicate that Chancellor Rachel Reeves, together with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, intervened to prioritize the contract after concerns emerged that the Ministry of Defence had begun deprioritizing it within the Defence Investment Plan. This intervention came after Defence Secretary John Healey’s planned visit to Yeovil to formalize the contract was unexpectedly canceled.
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Leonardo employs approximately 3,300 staff in Yeovil and works with nearly 12,000 suppliers nationwide. Roberto Cingolani, Leonardo’s chief executive, had previously warned that failing to approve the contract would jeopardize the future of the UK operation.
As the sole bidder, Leonardo had a deadline until the end of Sunday for its proposal to remain valid. A Treasury source emphasized Chancellor Reeves’s commitment to national security and economic growth, stating, “Rachel cares about keeping the country safe and driving jobs in the UK because our security and economic growth are fundamentally connected. This project is key to those principles – she wasn’t going to let this deal collapse under her watch.”
Trade union Unite, representing thousands of aerospace and defence workers, hailed the contract approval as a “tremendous victory” for the industry, the company, and its workforce. Unite’s General Secretary, Sharon Graham, remarked, “Unite has been campaigning for this Government to buy British defence for over a year because it is vital for jobs and skills as well as national security. The Leonardo contract is a tremendous victory for Unite members in Yeovil and across the aerospace sector. Without their commitment, hard work and dedication, it would not be being signed today. Of course, we are pleased that Rachel Reeves has now listened to Unite on this issue. However, it took way too long to get this done, and we still have to question why workers were left in the dark until the 11th hour.”
Neither Leonardo nor the Ministry of Defence provided an official comment on the matter.