JOBS cuts have been announced at the HQ of aerospace giant Cobham just days after the completion of its £4billion takeover by an American firm.

Cobham has not confirmed how many redundancies are being made at its Wimborne base, although one caller to the Daily Echo claimed the figure could be as high as 50.

The American private equity firm Advent International completed its takeover of Cobham last week. Cobham’s management and shareholders supported the deal despite numerous objections, including from members of the firm’s founding family.

A statement from the company said: “Cobham Limited has announced a reduction in the number of job roles at the head office in Wimborne, as a result of Cobham no longer being a public company following the acquisition by Advent International.

“The announcement is consistent with Advent’s intentions, which were declared in their announcement on July 25, 2019.The company has been in regular dialogue with potentially affected staff since that date, with all appropriate support put in place to minimise the impact.

“The announcement does not impact Cobham Mission Systems, which is operational on the Wimborne site.”

The government announced in December that it would allow the takeover of Cobham.

Lady Nadine Cobham, whose husband Sir Michael ran the business for many years, said the announcement was “cynically timed to avoid scrutiny on the weekend before Christmas”.

Mid Dorset and North Poole MP Michael Tomlinson said: “I am very disappointed to hear of redundancies at Cobham. Whilst the initial decision was based on issues of national security, which is incredibly important, another key factor for me was local jobs. I raised this at the time with the chief executive of Cobham and I will do so again.

“It is vital that certainty is provided for the future direction of Cobham. It is a large and important company providing skilled jobs in Dorset and I welcomed confirmation that Cobham’s headquarters will remain in the UK. I will do what I can to stand up for local residents affected by these plans.”

Former MI6 head Sir John Sawers and former Cobham chairman Gordon Page were among those who objected to the takeover.

The takeover was given the green light after Cobham and Advent agreed to undertakings on national security, including a pledge to give prior notice to the government of any plan to sell the business.