Babcock International
Babcock International Group plc is a British[5] aerospace, defence and nuclear engineering services company based in London, England.[7] Following its establishment, the British company's sphere of operation was defined as 'the world except for North America and Cuba', which was the preserve of the US Babcock & Wilcox venture.[9] During 1895, Babcock & Wilcox Ltd opened a new boilermaking works, based on the 33-acre (130,000 m2) site of the Porterfield Forge on the opposite side of the River Clyde near Renfrew.[5] Shortly thereafter, the newly merged company's head office in London and more than two-dozen plants were closed, causing the loss of around 6,000 jobs, over half of these based in Britain, reducing its workforce to less than 30,000.[12] On 9 May 2006, it went on to acquire Alstec Group Ltd, a nuclear and airport services operator,[16] and on 13 June 2006, it bought the high voltage power lines and mobile telecoms business of ABB South Africa (Pty).The acquisition, which was completed on 8 July 2010, created a combined defence and support services group that annually accrued sales of £3bn and had more than 25,000 employees, which were mainly based in Britain and the United States.[31] In August 2014, Babcock issued a statement declaring that there would be job losses at HMNB Clyde if Scotland were to vote in favour of independence in the 2014 Referendum.[32] In October 2014, both Babcock and BAE Systems won contracts from the Ministry of Defence worth a total of £3.2 billion to maintain British warships, submarines and naval bases for the following five years.[37][38] Reportedly, Rupert Soames, Serco's Chief Executive, remained interested in aligning his company's defence operations with Babcock's own divisions.[41] The firm's decision to downsize its S-92 inventory caused manufacturer Sikorsky to sue Babcock over its refusal to accept delivery of units ordered in 2011.[45] In February 2023, the British Royal Navy ordered an investigation into the repairs made by Babcock International engineers on a Trident submarine after it was discovered that glue had been used to fix broken bolts in the nuclear reactor.