AstraZeneca to implement UK job cuts

AstraZeneca looks set to implement a raft of UK job cuts after announcing it will axe 7,300 positions worldwide.

Despite failing to confirm details of any redundancies in the UK, unions believe around 250 to 300 posts could be lost at the firm's Research and Development site, which is situated in Alderley Park, the BBC reports.

Around 7,000 individuals are currently employed at the location and Macclesfield MP David Rutley described news of the job cuts as "very distressing".

The politician claimed the changes will prove a setback for the area, but suggested skilled workers should not find it too difficult to gain new employment.

He stated: "There's a skill shortage in the UK - and if you take the example of the big closure in BAE Woodford - within a year most people had found jobs."

Mr Rutley is hoping to arrange a meeting with science minister David Willetts, who is also the MP for Havant, to try and come up with a plan to keep people in the region in active employment.