WORKERS are already putting themselves forward for voluntary redundancy at BAE Systems - two weeks after the aerospace giant announced it will shed 1,000 jobs.

But Amicus union officials are standing by their threat to strike if there are not enough volunteers and compulsory redundancies are forced on workers at the Samlesbury and Warton sites.

In total 750 jobs are to go from the sites with 250 sub-contractor jobs also being shed.

Workers now have three weeks to put their names forward for redundancy, but the company said it reserves the right to veto applications.

The loss of 1,000 jobs, described as a huge blow to the region by MPs and business leaders, was caused by a downturn in work in the next few years.

It is anticipated 500 jobs will be lost this year, with the remainder in 2005.

A spokesman for the company said: "The window for voluntary redundancies has been opened but we have no figures on how many we have yet.

"The window will be open until mid-May. We hope to achieve all redundancies through voluntary means. If that is not possible then there will be compulsory redundancies."

The different skill sets where the jobs will be going have now been made public. In Samlesbury there are 191 manual jobs going, four clerical, 174 professional and 20 managerial/ technical.

In Warton there are no manual jobs being lost, 15 clerical, 296 professional and 50 managerial/ technical.

Neil Sheehan, Amicus convenor, said: "We will ballot to strike if there are any compulsory redundancies."