US industrial group Honeywell is today expected to announce a substantial programme of job losses at its aviation engineering operations in Waterford.

Honeywell employs around 1,000 people at three companies in the town and sources said yesterday that hundreds of jobs could go.

Employees have been aware of the prospect of downsizing for some weeks and management and union representatives have been discussing severance conditions in recent days.

Honeywell, formed in 1999 following the merger of AlliedSignal and Honeywell, announced last month that it had been forced to reduce its costs.