An aerospace company is to create more than 300 jobs at a new centre in Glasgow.

Lockheed Martin has established a new base in the city, moving from Inchinnan in Renfrewshire, and said it will be home to 327 new jobs in the coming years.

The company, which works in defence and aerospace and also has offices in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, said it had created 50 new jobs since the start of the year.

Links to Glasgow's universities was a key reason to move the office to the Skypark business park in the city.

Sondra Barbour, executive vice president for Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions, said: "International growth is critical to the long-term growth strategy of our information systems business.

"Given the scale of local ICT innovation, flagship universities and science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) initiatives, we see Glasgow and central Scotland as the ideal location to increase our UK presence."

Lockheed Martin employs about 3,000 people at 21 sites across the UK.

Paul Lewis, managing director of Scottish Development International, said: "Encouraging global companies like Lockheed Martin to invest in Scotland is at the heart of what we do, and I am very pleased that Scottish Enterprise and SDI have been able to help the company expand its operations in Scotland.

"Scotland has the skills, talent, infrastructure and innovative spirit to thrive in a competitive global market."

Meanwhile, trade unions have expressed dismay at plans to cut 400 jobs at digger manufacturer JCB

They warned a downturn in world markets, including China, could lead to more losses.

Gordon Richardson of the GMB union said: "These staff job losses are the first ripple from the downturn in world markets, including China, impacting on the UK economy.

"This huge wave of uncertainty is likely to lead to further job losses in the sectors that trade with the rest of the world."

JCB said it had started a consultation process.

A statement said: "The slowdown in recent weeks has been marked, particularly in the emerging markets, resulting in a sharp fall in machine orders."

Chief executive Graeme Macdonald blamed difficult market conditions in the construction sector, which had worsened rapidly in recent weeks.