NEWPORT defence contractor Atlas Elektronik UK has confirmed that 37 of its staff will have been made redundant in the last year by the time the company 's city site closes later this month.

The closure of its Newport base comes after the company citied reduced demand and high costs associated with the site.

It is understood that the company, which is based at Queensway Meadows, will close the site by June 23.

Business and development director Phil Cooper said that of the 49 staff employed at the company, 12 have accepted positions at their Winfrith site in Dorset, with the remaining 37 staff having either already left the company, or will have left by June 23.

But Mr Cooper has stressed that the “vast majority” of those who have been made redundant as a result of the closure have found alternative employment thanks to the company’s assistance.

Mr Cooper told the Argus that staff have been provided with external training to develop their skill bases, that the company has funded an employment agency to locate jobs for them and has also provided assistance with the development of CVs.

Atlas Elektronik GmbH, the parent company of Atlas Elektronik UK, is a global defence group and a world leader in the provision of naval combat systems, maritime systems and equipment.

The company is involved in the development of integrated sonar systems for submarines and heavyweight torpedoes, and supplies naval defence and security research and advice to the MoD.

In May last year Mr Cooper told the Argus: “The Atlas Elektronik business has been operating from its current Queensway Meadows site in Newport since 1993.

“Unfortunately the company has reluctantly decided that it will not extend the lease on this site when it runs out in June 2014.

“Some elements of the Newport business will be retained and transferred to the Atlas Elektonik facility at Winfrith in Dorset.”

He had previously added: “Additionally, we are working closely with local employment agencies to find alternative job opportunities for staff we cannot relocate. The Newport site currently employs 49 staff and our objective is to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies.”