British aerospace and defence companies have joined their manufacturing peers in pointing to a rocky 2009 for employees and investors, with job cuts announced at Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems.

Sir John Rose, Rolls-Royce chief executive, has become known in policy circles as a champion of British manufacturing competence in the face of competition from lower-cost economies. He set out a year-long programme of tough medicine for the aircraft engine maker as it faces a long-anticipated slowdown in civil aviation.