New research highlights BAE Systems’ contribution to British jobs and the economy

Published by

Peter Davison

Workers at BAE Systems

BAE Systems’ contribution to the UK economy – including creating highly skilled jobs, funding world-leading research and sustaining a vibrant national supply chain – has been revealed in new research.

The research, carried out by Oxford Economics, says BAE Systems’ operations supported 132,000 full-time equivalent jobs nationwide, benefiting every region of the UK and the Company contributed £11 billion to GDP – equivalent to 0.4 per cent of the domestic economy – last year.

BAE Systems – which is based in Filton, near Bristol, and has its digital intelligence division at Yeovil in Somerset, is delivering some of the world’s most advanced defence programmes, from Dreadnought submarines to next-generation combat air systems. This critical work relies on the skill, expertise and dedication of employees, contractors, trade unions and suppliers across the country.

And it has grown its UK workforce by more than 10 per cent. In 2022, BAE Systems directly employed almost 40,000 people – around three-quarters in engineering-related roles – and supported a further 49,000 jobs across the supply chain and thousands more in local communities.

Almost 40 per cent of BAE Systems employees are based in the UK’s most deprived areas, where long-term employment opportunities are crucial for local economies to grow. Last year, the company spent £730 million with suppliers in these locations and provided mentorship and support for SMEs to help boost regional businesses.

Strong partnerships across industry, academia and SMEs are a vital part of BAE Systems’ work and the Company spent £3.9 billion with around 6,000 suppliers in 2022. In addition, the Company has grown its university partnerships and invested £1.4 billion in research and development last year, both self-funded and on behalf of its customers, helping sustain the UK’s valuable engineering and technology sectors.

BAE Systems has operations around the world and is one of Britain’s leading exporters. In 2022, the Company exported £3.7 billion of goods and services from the UK – equivalent to almost 0.5 per cent of all UK exports, making a significant contribution to global trade.

Charles Woodburn, BAE Systems Chief Executive, said: “As one of the UK’s largest employers, we recognise our responsibility to help deliver economic prosperity as well as national security.

"Our continued investment in skills, technology and the communities where we live and work supports thousands of jobs and is creating opportunities for people to play an important role in helping to keep our country and our allies safe.”

Lord Johnson, Minister for Investment, said: “Our defence sector is driving growth, investment and jobs in every corner of the UK, helping to grow the economy and keeping us at the cutting edge of innovation.

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“BAE Systems’ contribution to this cannot be overstated, and this new research underlines just how vital they are to our world-leading defence industry.”

James Cartlidge, Minister for Defence Procurement, said: “We cannot keep the nation safe without the extensive support of the UK Defence industry.

“Defence companies support jobs and provide important boosts to local economies across the country. BAE Systems is no exception, driving prosperity and putting skills-building at the heart of their work.”

Peter Davison

Peter Davison is deputy editor of The Business Magazine. He has spent his life in journalism – doing work experience in newsrooms in and around Bristol while still at school, and landing his first job on a local newspaper aged 19. By 28 he was the youngest newspaper editor in the country. An early advocate of online news, he spent the first years of the 2000s telling his bosses that the internet posed both the biggest opportunity and greatest threat to the newspaper industry and the art of journalism. He was right on both counts. Since 2006 he has enjoyed a career as a freelance journalist. He lives in rural Wiltshire with one wife, two children, and three cats.