Babcock moving 2,000 workers into city centre

DEFENCE FIRM'S PLAN TO 'SUPPORT REGENERATION'

- By WILLIAM TELFORD

DEFENCE giant Babcock International Group Plc is planning to move more than 2,000 of its workforce out of Devonport Dockyard and relocate them in Plymouth city centre.

The FTSE 100 company called the plans "transformative" and said they were part of a "trailblazing approach to support regional regeneration across the UK".

The announcement comes as Babcock outlined its increasing influence across society as it highlighted its impact "beyond the balance sheet from the defence dividend".

The company, which last week revealed a £364m profit, said that it intended to "unlock potential and transform thousands of lives and businesses, as part of a wider economic and social blueprint across the UK".

It said: "The company is planning to relocate employees from some of its Devonport support functions into a new capability centre in the centre of Plymouth to help boost collaboration, foster wider prosperity and support defence delivery."

Babcock has not yet revealed where the capability centre is going to be located. The company's plans were not included in Plymouth City Council 's city centre vision document, only released in March, which envisages 10,000 homes in the area.