The recent announcement of jobs cuts in the military will affect Portsmouth’s Royal Navy, with an expected over 1300 employees to lose their jobs in total, some from Portsmouth’s base. Many sailors are being made redundant and face an uncertain future, whilst around 200 sailors, despite applying for redundancy, aren’t allowed to leave.

The job cuts come as part of a string of actions that have occurred over the past few years, in a bid to reduce the UK’s military budgets. Despite being affected by the job cuts, many people in the military understand it is just something that must be done in order for the military to get out of the debt left from previous years. Any Royal Marines will not be included in the recent job cuts.

It is hoped that there will be no more job cuts after the latest round of redundancies, and it's thought perhaps the Navy will need to recruit for more employees in other areas within 5 years time. With Portsmouth being a key naval base in the UK, it is hoped that if a new recruitment scheme does occur within a few years time, some of the job opportunities will be based in Portsmouth.

The job cuts announcement is part of the UK’s strategy to bring the country’s defence budget back to a manageable level. The job cuts will be seen throughout the whole of the defence sectors not just the Navy, with some soldiers and RAF employees also losing their jobs. The job cuts come as yet another blow to the people of Portsmouth, who saw BAE cut over 1000 jobs earlier this year at their Shipyard in the city.