Hundreds of UK jobs could be at risk after Rolls-Royce announced plans to axe up to 2,500 roles globally.
The engineering giant confirmed yesterday it will cut between 2,000 and 2,500 jobs as it tries to simplify the business.
Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said he is ‘building a Rolls-Royce that is fit for the future’ as he announced plans to reduce the global workforce by 6 per cent.
More than half of Rolls-Royce’s 42,000 employees are based in the UK, and it has 11,000 workers in Germany and 5,500 in the US.
Rolls-Royce did not confirm which locations will be impacted by the redundancies, but reports said hundreds of UK roles are expected to be affected.
Rolls-Royce boss Tufan Erginbilgic (pictured) said he is ‘building a Rolls-Royce ‘fit for the future’ as he announced plans to cut the workforce by 6%
The layoffs will mainly affect back-office jobs rather than engineering roles, according to reports.
However, union Unite said it will be three months before any more details are provided to employees, saying no clarity had been given on where the job losses are likely to be.
Erginbilgic said: ‘We are building a Rolls-Royce that is fit for the future.
‘That means a more streamlined and efficient organisation.’
The company’s share price ticked up 1pc following the announcement as investors reacted to the cost-cutting plan.
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: ‘Reducing the workforce by 6 per cent is a bold move and the challenge is not to sacrifice quality in the quest to save a few quid.’
Rolls-Royce is planning to merge its engineering technology and safety units into one, resulting in the departure of chief technology officer Grazia Vittadini in April next year.
The team will be responsible for product safety, engineering standards, process, methods and tools.
Other departments affected by the restructuring are finance, legal and human resources. Rolls-Royce’s business in Germany is expected to be badly hit by the cuts.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘Rolls-Royce has provided no justification why it believes these job losses are necessary.’
■ It was a grim day for UK plc as consultancy giant KPMG and Swedish electric truck firm Volta announced job cuts. KPMG announced 110 jobs will be lost in the UK. Volta filed for bankruptcy meaning 600 British jobs are at risk.
