THE Welsh Government will do all it can to support the workers who face losing their jobs at Airbus' facility in North Wales, economy minister Ken Skates has said.

Mr Skates was speaking at the Welsh Government's daily coronavirus briefing earlier today, Wednesday.

He said that there will be a huge number of Airbus workers extremely concerned at the news of job losses at the facility in Broughton.

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“My thoughts are with them,” he said. “We’ll be getting more information on where the job losses will occur tomorrow.

“We will stand with the company, its workforce, the trade unions and the community as we have always done.

“Airbus is the cornerstone of the aerospace sector in Wales and the UK.

“It is clear that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a catastrophic effect on the sector.”

But Mr Skates added there was no reason to believe that all 1,700 jobs the company has said it will cut would be lost at the Broughton site.

“Job losses were announced for both primary sites in the UK - Filton and Broughton,” he said. “There is no reason to believe that all of them will be at Broughton.

“However, we are preparing for job losses at Broughton.”

And Mr Skates said that the Welsh Government “would not abandon” workers at the facility.

“This will not be the beginning of the end,” he said.

“We will support them the way we have supported the workforce of other companies facing such devastating news.

“I have already established a regional response team to work across the border.

“There will also be an urgent summit in north Wales in the coming weeks to discuss the future of the sector.

“The global impact of the crisis means that local action will not be enough.

“We need decisive action from the UK government.”

That action may be some way off however, as Mr Skates dismissed prime minister Boris Johnson’s ‘new deal’ plan

“The prime minister’s plan to ‘build build build’ offers only 1/25 of what Roosevelt’s New Deal offered,” he said.

“I must stress that UK and Welsh governments must work together to overcome this crisis.

“Now is the time for the UK treasury to return to the table to provide the sector with a bright future.”

He continued by saying that younger employees of the Airbus site would be prioritised for support as their employment would be more adversely affected by the pandemic .

“To those who looked to Airbus as an alternative to university - we will invest in your future,” he said.

“We will invest and deliver bright prospects.”