20,000 jobs to go in defence shake-up
Sarah Left and agencies
Wednesday July 21, 2004 Almost 20,000 military and civilian posts are to be cut in the biggest shake-up of the armed services for a generation, the defence secretary, Geoff Hoon, announced today.
The RAF will bear the brunt of the cuts, losing around 7,500 jobs, with the navy facing cuts of up to 1,500 serving personnel.
The army will lose the equivalent of four infantry battalions - three from England and one from Scotland. The numbers of aircraft, tanks and ships will also be reduced.
Mr Hoon also announced the loss of 10,000 civilian support staff, and told the House of Commons that the changes would be completed by 2008.
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