An engineering company part-owned by the Belfast aerospace company Shorts is to lay off 100 employees. The Derry-based firm, Maydown Precision Engineering, has blamed the strength of sterling for its decision to reduce its workforce by almost a third over the next six weeks. Maydown, which currently employs around 250 people, is a sub-contractor for a number of Northern Ireland's major exporters, many of which have been affected by the increasing strength of sterling.