A £32m investment into the production, research and development of helicopters at the AgustaWestland in Yeovil facility will sustain around 8,000 jobs, according to a BiS spokesperson.

Business secretary Vince Cable announced the funding yesterday during a visit to the facility, where design and development is taking place for the new AW169 light intermediate commercial helicopter.

The investment is made up of a £22m loan on market terms to assist production of the AW169. Separately, £10m in R&D grants have been provided through the Technology Strategy Board Scheme.

A BiS spokesperson told Recruiter: “AgustaWestland will sustain around 2,000 jobs at the Yeovil site and roughly 6,000 in the supply chain — that’s sustain not create.”