British defence engineering company Babcock on Tuesday axed 1,000 jobs to save cash after announcing significant asset writedowns. The group will reduce its global workforce of 30,000 staff over the next 12 months, it said in a statement following a strategic review. Babcock is the second biggest defence equipment supplier to Britain's Ministry of Defence, after BAE Systems. The review identified impairments and charges totalling about £1.7 billion ($2.3 billion, 2.0 billion euros). Babcock added that it will focus on its activities in Australia, Britain, Canada, France and South Africa. "Through self-help actions, we aim to return Babcock to strength," said chief executive David Lockwood. jbo-rfj/bcp/tgb