by Alan Watkins

Up to 300 jobs are to be axed at one of Medway's biggest companies.

BAE Systems announced at lunch time they would start seeking up to one in five staff prepared to accept voluntary redundancies.

The jobs will go from the Platform Solutions side of their business by the end of March.

"We recognise this is an extremely difficult period for our employees and their families, said Dan Gobel, president for Platform Solutions.

"Regrettably, this is a difficult but necessary response to a changing market environment. As a responsible company, we are committed to providing support for affected staff including outplacement advice, redeployment and retraining."

Platform Solutions serves military, commercial, and civil customers with electronic subsystems for a wide variety of aircraft and ground vehicles.

The news came on the same day the Government was announcing cuts in defence spending to fund expansion of the Afghan war.