Rolls-Royce to close Derby jet engine plant for two weeks

Rolls-Royce is set to close its jet engine plants for two weeks this summer because of a lack of work in its civil aerospace division.

The move will affect 12,500 staff in the UK and will be centred around its Derby headquarters.

Rolls has informed staff about the move and said the wages they will lose will be spread across the entire year.

The move is expected to save the manufacturing giant tens of millions of pounds, but it will not furlough any staff.

A spokesperson said: “Unilaterally claiming furlough for all employees across the UK civil aerospace business in a pre-planned way is not consistent with the intent – nor is it, we believe, within the spirit – of the scheme, as workload is not impacted across all areas.”

The move comes two weeks after Rolls said it will burn through £2bn in 2021 as the pandemic continues to hit civilian flying hours.

Rolls said it expects engine hours to come in at round 55% of 2019 levels this year, compared to its previous prediction of 70% last October. It says it expects most of the £2bn will flow out of the company in the first six months of the year and that it expects to be cash flow positive “at some point” during the second half.