More than 70 jobs are to be axed by engineering giant Babcock at its Renfrew base.

The move comes just months after Babcock was sold by Korean parent company Doosan to French firm Altrad, which had a £1billion turnover last year.

Altrad has since sent an email to all 431 employees at the Renfrew plant to outline its redundancy plans, with around 75 jobs to be lost.

One member of staff told The Gazette: “We got an email explaining that Altrad Babcock would undergo structural changes, with a number of roles in Renfrew becoming redundant to reduce overheads.

“When the sale was announced in September 2022, rumours of redundancies were rife from the get-go. However, there is now uncertainty and confusion over who is going to be picked.”

The jobs being targeted at Renfrew include clerical, marketing, communications, managerial and technical roles.

“Babcock has a large number of people with long service and it is feared they may be targeted,” added the worker, who asked not to be named.

“Renfrew has been through several redundancies in the past but this has been the worst.

“We did not expect the process to be so painful and drawn out.”

Dave McGurk, regional organiser of the Unite union, said: “I have been involved in ongoing consultations with Babcock to minimise any potential redundancies on our members at Renfrew.”

Renfrewshire North and West MSP Natalie Don said the job losses will be “devastating” for those involved.

“There is never a good time to face redundancy but things are especially difficult for people just now,” she added.

“Generations of local families have connections to Babcock and it is difficult to understand the need to make hard-working staff redundant when the company is posting millions of pounds of profit.

“I shall be contacting the CEO to ask why this action has been needed and what support will be made available to those being made redundant. I will also be seeking assurances for the staff that remain at the Babcock site in Renfrew.

“I will also contact the Scottish Government to ensure those facing redundancy are supported to find suitable alternative employment as soon as possible.”

No-one from Altrad was available for comment.