BAE Systems' Chief Executive, Charles Woodburn, has relayed the following information regarding the company's operations during the current coronavirus invasion…
Charles Woodburn
We are operating at a time of unprecedented disruption and change around the world as governments in all of our markets continue to tackle public health emergencies due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak. The health and safety of our people remains our top priority and we are engaging regularly with our employees. Our leadership teams around the world are focused on the actions we need to take to protect the health and well-being of our employees and their families, whilst working with our customers and suppliers to minimize the impact on our operations.
We are monitoring advice from the World Health Organisation and national governments in each of our markets to ensure we are taking appropriate action to help protect our people. In common with many organisations, we have significant numbers of employees working remotely where possible. Our Business Continuity teams are working at pace to look at where and how we can support further remote working, in line with guidance from governments.
A number of our sites around the world need to continue operating to deliver critical capabilities to help governments and members of the armed forces and security services to protect national security at this challenging time. We are taking actions at these sites to protect our people and minimize disruption.
Our travel policies are under constant review to align with guidance in the markets in which we operate. Like other organisations, we are minimising travel whilst focusing on meeting our customers’ needs. Our suppliers include many small and medium sized companies, who play an important role in supporting our customers. We are exploring how we can further support our supply chain partners during this challenging time.
We are also carefully considering other actions to assist the communities around the world where we live and work. We are increasing our support to our existing charity partners and we are looking for opportunities to extend our support to charitable organisations supporting the most vulnerable people in our local communities.
I want to personally thank all of our employees, suppliers and customers for your support, flexibility and patience as we continue to take the necessary actions to support the national governments in each of our markets as they seek to manage this public health emergency and respond to what is a fast moving and constantly evolving situation.
Charles Woodburn
