About 50 employees of BAE Systems in New Hampshire have lost their jobs as part of layoffs throughout the company’s Electronic Systems division, which is headquartered in Nashua.

About 100 people were part of the “reduction in force,” said BAE spokesman Jeff Rose, who said about half of the reductions took place in New Hampshire.

Electronic Systems has about 12,000 employees at 23 sites in eight states, including facilities in Nashua, Hudson, Merrimack and in Manchester, since the company’s purchase last fall of Oasys Technology. More than 4,000 of those employees are in New Hampshire.

Rose said the layoffs took place in “all job disciplines and businesses” among the division. Some departures were voluntary and some people were laid off.

“We are continuing to execute our strategy to meet the challenges of the marketplace … to reduce costs and streamline to meet and respond to market changes,” he said.

Like all defense contractors, BAE Systems is preparing for a reduction in U.S. defense spending with the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and continuing pressure to cut the federal deficit.

Rose said BAE acknowledges how difficult the layoffs were, and the process was “designed to minimize the impacts to the best extent possible.”

Those affected were offered severance packages with health benefits and outplacement systems, he said.

BAE Systems, headquartered in England, has more than 80,000 employees in divisions on four continents.

David Brooks can be reached at 594-6531 or dbrooks@nashuatelegraph.com.

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