CINCINNATI — A company that puts protective armor on vehicles said it Tuesday cut an additional 180 jobs in southwest Ohio.

BAE Systems blames the rough economy and reduced military contract work for the layoffs of full-time workers at its plant near the northern Cincinnati suburb of Fairfield. They follow two rounds in March that cut some 300 positions that were mostly temporary contract workers.

The company says full-time employees will get severance and career assistance and can apply for jobs elsewhere in the company. The cuts leave BAE Systems with about 1,300 workers in suburban Cincinnati, after its business had surged in recent years with the demand for armored and explosive-resistant military vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The current challenging economic times are certainly impacting our business,” company spokeswoman Jennifer Robinson said. “While some key contracts are winding down, we are continuing to aggressively pursue new business for our Cincinnati area operations.”

She said BAE Systems just landed a new federal government contract for civilian armored vehicle work that will be done in southwest Ohio.

The Rockville, Md.-based company is a subsidiary of British defense conglomerate BAE Systems PLC.

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