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GKN is shedding 19 of the 250 jobs at its Aerospace Transparency Systems plant in Birmingham. 21-Dec-2009 GKN is to shed more than 550 jobs at its car parts and aerospace factories, including the closure of sites in Walsall, Birmingham, Burnley and Luton. 18-Feb-2009 GKN has shed 242 jobs at its four automotive plants in the West Midlands, while 2,800 jobs have been lost from its global workforce of 42,000. 29-Jan-2009 GKN is to shed 90 jobs at its vehicle parts factory at Hadley Castle in Telford. 21-Nov-2008 GKN is to shed 1,400 temporary staff, as part of a global restructuring plan that will affect an unspecified number of the 2,500 jobs at its automotive engineering plants in Telford, Birmingham and Worcestershire. 28-Oct-2008 GKN is to acquire the Airbus aircraft wing components factory at Filton near Bristol for £136m, and the government is providing £60m in repayable aid. 16-Sep-2008 Airbus and GKN are planning to create 400 jobs at a new aircraft wings plant at Easter Compton near Bristol. 21-Jul-2008 GKN is to acquire Teleflex Aerospace Manufacturing, the manufacturer of engine components for the aerospace industry with 600 staff in Burnley, the US, Mexico and France, for undisclosed terms. 05-Apr-2007 GKN is to close its factory in Chesterfield with the loss of 420 jobs, in order to transfer production of cylinder liners to China. 22-Jan-2007 GKN has acquired Liuzhou Steel Rim Factory, the Chinese manufacturer of off-highway wheels with 550 staff, for £4m. 17-Nov-2006 GKN has acquired Stellex Aerostructures of the US for an estimated £90m, as well as US-based Rockford Powertrain for £26m. 04-Aug-2006 GKN has acquired QDS Henschen, the US manufacturer of wheel hubs with 110 staff, from the Lakin Manufacturing Corporation for £6m. 21-Nov-2005 GKN has acquired the remaining 51% of Velcon, the Mexican manufacturer of automotive parts with 640 staff, from joint venture partner Desc for £44m. 03-Feb-2005 GKN Sheepbridge Stokes is to shed 96 of the 750 jobs at its cylinder linings plant in Chesterfield by the end of the year, following the loss of a major contract. 29-Nov-2004 GKN is to sell its 50% stake in Aerosystems International, the avionics and software company with 400 staff, to joint venture partner BAe Systems for £14m. 17-Aug-2004 GKN is to sell its German tube connecting systems business to Eaton Corporation of the US for £26m. 23-Jun-2004 GKN is to sell its 50% stake in the AgustaWestland helicopter business to Finmeccanica of Italy for £1.06bn, and the proceeds will be used to expand its automotive and aerospace component operations. 27-May-2004 GKN is planning to transfer 20% of its automotive parts manufacturing to India, China, Thailand and Latin America over the next three years, which could lead to the loss of 2,000 jobs in western Europe and the US. 02-Mar-2004 GKN is soon to decide whether to build a new £10m aerospace materials research centre in the UK or the US, and the Isle of Wight is thought to be a likely location. 28-Nov-2003 GKN has acquired Pilkington Aerospace, the manufacturer of military aircraft canopies, for £42m. 23-Jul-2003 GKN has announced plans to shed a further 99 jobs at its Cowes factory on the Isle of Wight. 27-May-2002 GKN is to acquire Astech, the US manufacturer of titanium components for aircraft, for £22m. 10-May-2002 GKN is to pay £9.3m for the remaining 51% of its Mahindra Sintered Products powder metals joint venture in India. 04-Apr-2002 GKN has acquired a 33% stake in Tochigi Fuji Sangyo, the Japanese supplier of advanced automotive driveline components, from Nissan for £27m. 26-Mar-2002 GKN Aerospace Services is to shed 70 of the 440 jobs at its aircraft engineering operation in Yeovil. 04-Jan-2002 GKN is to shed up to 650 jobs at its aerospace plant in Cowes on the Isle of Wight over the next 12 months. 14-Dec-2001 GKN has announced plans to shed 1,250 jobs in its automotive and aerospace engineering business, with the UK-based civil aerospace operations being hit hardest. 31-Oct-2001 GKN is to shed a third of its 300 head office staff in Birmingham and London following the demerger of its industrial services business. 10-Aug-2001 GKN has announced plans for the £7bn merger of its industrial services division with Brambles of Australia, and is now seeking acquisitions for its automotive and aerospace engineering operations. 20-Apr-2001 GKN Aerospace has announced plans to shed 350 jobs on the Isle of Wight, including 150 sub-contract and temporary workers. 02-Feb-2001 GKN is considering plans to merge its industrial services operation with Brambles of Australia, which could lead to the flotation of the combined business. 16-Jan-2001 GKN is to buy a military aircraft fuselage and wing parts factory in St Louis, Missouri, from Boeing for £44m, and has also announced plans to create a new Aerospace Services subsidiary and cut the number of plants from 11 to seven. 20-Oct-2000 GKN has bought the remaining 35% of Albarus Transmissoes Homocineticas, the Brazilian driveshaft manufacturer, from joint venture partner Dana Corporation for undisclosed terms. 04-Oct-2000 GKN is looking to sell the Westland heliport in Battersea, London, raising concern that helicopter flights could end if the site is redeveloped. 15-Aug-2000 GKN has acquired Nissan Motor's driveline factory in Japan for £56m, giving it a 15% share of the Japanese market. 07-Aug-2000 GKN has agreed terms to merge the business of its Westland subsidiary with Finmeccanica of Italy, to create a major new force in the helicopter industry called AgustaWestland. 28-Jul-2000 GKN has sold its 48% stake in Normalair-Garrett, the Somerset-based aircraft components business, to Honeywell for £73m. 24-Dec-1999 GKN is to buy a vehicle components plant in Kaiserslautern that produces constant velocity joints from Adam Opel for undisclosed terms. 17-Dec-1999 GKN's Sinter Metals division has bought Borg-Warner Automotive's powdered metals business in the US. 05-Oct-1999 GKN is restructuring its motor vehicle components business by moving production to low-cost countries such as Poland and Slovenia. 05-Aug-1999 GKN and Finmeccanica of Italy have agreed to merge their helicopter operations, Westland and Agusta, into a joint venture that will have about 20% of the world market. 19-Mar-1999 GKN is close to agreeing the merger of its Westland business with Agusta of Italy to create the largest helicopter manufacturer in Europe. 04-Mar-1999 GKN is planning an alliance with Toyota Machine Works in order to give its car components division greater access to the Japanese market, and they are said to be planning to build a new factory at a cost of £50m. 08-Feb-1999 GKN is to close its Rigby Metal Components subsidiary at Cleckheaton with the loss of 96 jobs, and production will transfer to Lichfield in Staffordshire. 28-Jan-1999 GKN has acquired Interlake, the US manufacturer of powdered metals and aerospace components, for £335m. 08-Dec-1998 GKN is acquiring Dow-UT Composite Products, the US manufacturer of aircraft components, for £37m, and will merge the business with its GKN Westland Aerospace division. 29-Oct-1998 GKN's powder metals division is planning to invest up to £175m on acquisitions by 2002, and is also looking to reorganise its 28 plants and spend more on R&D. 09-Oct-1998 GKN and Alvis are to merge their tanks businesses with GKN swapping its interests for a 29.9% stake in Alvis, and the deal is expected to lead to the closure of Alvis's plant in Coventry. 16-Sep-1998 GKN Sinter Metals has acquired Laurel Manufacturing, the US bearings manufacturer that has annual sales of $18m. 31-Aug-1998 GKN has won a £30m contract to manage Chrysler's extensive pool of Autocrates, the containers by which car components are distributed across the US, its first move into the US automotive logistics market. 26-Aug-1998 GKN is planning to make a series of acquisitions worth up to £100m each, in order to expand its aerospace, off-highway vehicles and powder metallurgy operations. 06-Aug-1998 GKN is set to acquire a US manufacturer of powder metal forged connecting rods from Borg-Warner Automotive, in a deal thought to be worth around $40m. 29-Jul-1998 GKN has acquired the remaining 49% of GKN Driveshafts (Thailand) from Sikor for £0.7m and the remaining 50% of Hanwha-GKN Driveshafts in Korea for £1.4m. 21-May-1998 GKN, as part of a consortium with Giat, Krauss-Maffei, MaK and Wegmann, has won a £3bn contract from the UK, German and French governments to build armoured vehicles. 23-Apr-1998 GKN is planning an alliance with Agusta of Italy to create the second largest helicopter group in the world. 17-Apr-1998 Cleanaway, the joint venture between GKN and Brambles Industries, is acquiring SKP Group, the German recycling and waste management business, for undisclosed terms. 07-Apr-1998 GKN says it has at least £1bn to spend on acquisitions in powder metallurgy, aerospace parts, and off-highway vehicle parts, and it has been discussing the possible merger of its helicopter business with Agusta of Italy. 13-Mar-1998 A consortium of GKN and Agusta of Italy has won a £250m contract to supply 15 Cormorant helicopters to the Canadian government. 06-Jan-1998 GKN is to acquire a 95% stake in Armstong Wheel & Rim Manufacturing, the US maker of parts for off-road vehicles, for £31m, and will buy the remaining 5% within 12 months. 31-Dec-1997 Vickers is said to be considering the acquisition of GKN's armoured vehicles division, and is thought to be keen to complete a deal before the award of two large defence contracts. 03-Nov-1997 GKN is to start testing plastic pallets next year in an attempt to achieve a technological breakthrough that could result in the replacement of wooden pallets for the transport of heavy weights. 21-Oct-1997 GKN is planning to invest up to £250m in the expansion of its aerospace and agricultural machinery operations in emerging markets, and it also hopes to benefit from any consolidation in the European defence industry. 07-Aug-1997 GKN Westland Aerospace is acquiring Aerospace Composite Technologies of Luton for £21m. 03-Jul-1997 GKN is acquiring Sinter Metals, the US powder metallurgy company, for £352m, thus giving it 14% of the world market for lightweight components made from the precision pressing of metal and carbide powders. 01-May-1997 GKN Westland Aerospace is acquiring the assets of BP Chemicals advanced materials business for £9m. 27-Mar-1997 GKN has acquired a 39% stake in Agrindustrial Holding, the Dutch agricultural equipment group, for £17.3m. 20-Mar-1997 GKN is looking to acquire an aircraft components business in the US and also wants to set up helicopter joint ventures in Asia. 18-Jan-1997 GKN Birfield has acquired an 80% stake in Italcardano Universal Giunti, the Italian maker of propeller shafts, for undisclosed terms. 09-Jan-1997 GKN Automotive is acquiring a further 15% stake in Shanghai GKN Drive Shaft of China for £6m from DEG, giving it a 40% stake. 15-Aug-1996 GKN is said to be considering acquisitions in the defence sector in order to expand its helicopter and armoured vehicle business. 08-Aug-1996 GKN has won a major contract to supply Fiat with parts for its new world car, which is expected to be built in at least six countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Poland and India. 22-Jul-1996 GKN is to set up a $30m project in Poland to make constant velocity joints and driveshafts for the expanding motor sector. 28-Jun-1996 GKN has acquired the remaining 34% of two Spanish car parts businesses - GKN Transmissiones Espaqa and GKN Ayra Durex - for £52m. 18-Jun-1996 FF Ricardo is developing a constant velocity joint for Transmission Systems of Jersey, which could rival GKN's world-leading device. 16-Feb-1996 GKN Automotive has announced a joint venture with Hanwha of Korea to manufacture constant velocity joints and driveshafts for the Korean motor industry. 13-Feb-1996 GKN is planning a catalytic converter plant in South Carolina, run by its Emitec German subsidiary. 05-Jan-1996 GKN has sold its US distributor of car parts, Parts Inc of Memphis, to APS Holding for $80m. 07-Dec-1995 GKN has sold its axles operation to Dana Corp for £58m, and is buying stakes in three South American automotive groups from Dana. 02-Nov-1995 GKN plans to double production at its Invel Transmissions plant in India. 26-Oct-1995
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