Around 60 jobs are said to be at risk at a munitions factory operated by BAE Systems (www.baesystems.com) in the North East after a review of its UK operations.

The group is looking to cut 250 jobs at its Land UK business, which makes combat vehicles and munitions for the armed forces.

The Washington plant opened in 2012 after the business relocated from Birtley, where it had been based since 1916 (redundancies are also being planned at Alsager in Cheshire, Glascoed in Wales and Telford in Shropshire).

Around 350 people are employed at the Washington site, which was opened by Princess Anne in 2012 after a £75 million investment in new facilities on the site of a former Dunlop factory.

A spokesman said that the review was part of “a business transformation which aims to help the company grow and win more business overseas”.

He added: “BAE Systems is currently reviewing its Land UK business to ensure that we have the right skills and capabilities to grow the business in new and existing markets.We are in consultation with the trades unions about potential job losses at some of our sites.

“However, we are also creating new jobs in order to grow our business and increasing the recruitment of apprentices and graduates five-fold over the next five years.”

BAE employs nearly 33,000 people in the UK and more than 80,000 world-wide; it operates in the defence, aerospace and security sectors.