Rheinmetall freezes naval hiring plans after Germany scraps frigate programme

BERLIN, July 7 (Reuters) - Rheinmetall has halted plans to add 1,000 jobs to its naval shipbuilding division after Germany scrapped the F126 frigate programme last month, a spokesperson for the German defence company said on Tuesday.

Business magazine Capital first reported the stop.

Berlin scraped the F126 programme after delays and expected cost overruns - dealing a blow to Rheinmetall, which had been tipped to win the contract. The government decided instead to order smaller Meko A-200 frigates from another German firm, TKMS.

Rheinmetall estimated that the cancellation will hit its quarterly order intake by about €20 billion, promising a fuller assessment when it reports second-quarter results on August 6.

(Reporting by Miranda Murray, Editing by Linda Pasquini)