More than 4,000 Boeing employees in the UK face an uncertain future as the American aircraft manufacturer prepares to axe a tenth of its global workforce.

Britain is one of Boeing’s largest overseas markets. Its 30 UK locations include its production facility in Sheffield, the company’s only manufacturing site in Europe.

On Friday evening, Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg announced plans to cut 17,000 jobs over the coming months. “It is hard to overstate the challenges we face,” he said.

The cuts have been prompted by mounting financial problems at Boeing. Regulators demanded it slow down its manufacturing after a door panel blew off one of its 737 Max jets mid-flight in America at the start of the year.

That squeeze on cashflow was exacerbated