MORE than 140 workers at Cammell Laird have taken voluntary redundancy following consultation on the ship yard's future. 

In March, management at the Birkenhead-based firm announced plans to cut more than 170 jobs after a business review showed it was "enduring downturn of workload and employing too many people" adding that "currently the business is inefficient and uncompetitive". 

A 45-day period of consultation followed, with plans to axe 178 posts across the business.

A number of the senior management team have already departed.

In a statement today, the company announced the end of the consultation, with 146 voluntary redundancies.

It read: "The business will now embark on a programme of transformation, which will lead to Cammell Laird becoming a technical economy with a multi-skilled workforce which is trained and equipped to understand future technologies.  

"We will continue to develop our apprenticeship programme and bring in a minimum of 25 apprentices each year.

"These next steps of our journey will ensure Cammell Laird is agile and competitive, and able to deliver our current order book and secure future contracts.

"Cammell Laird will stand ready to compete in the marketplace with a business which is sustainable for many years to come."