Rolls-Royce to create 200 jobs in Derby

Rolls-Royce is set to create around 200 jobs at its Derby plant in response to an increase in flying hours for the aircraft its engines power.

The £55m investment will cover both Derby and its manufacturing facility in Dahlewitz, Germany and increase the manufacturing giant’s headcount by 300 people in total.

The investment includes the expansion of engine build capacity in Derby to deliver over 40% more new engines per year from 2025 – compared with average deliveries over the last 10 years – and increase of services capacity.

The move follows last month’s announcement to invest £1bn in a continuous improvement programme for the Trent engine family.

Rob Watson, president – civil aerospace at Rolls-Royce, said: “These latest investments in our engine build and services capacity is further proof of our commitment to deliver both excellent products and services to our global customer base.

We are ready to support our continued growth in the widebody market – delivering even greater availability, reliability, and efficiency.”

The news comes less than a month after Rolls-Royce posted a record performance for 2023 after a “step-change” 12 months.

Underlying operating profit rose from £652m in 2022 to almost £1.6bn last year, while revenues were also up from almost £12.7bn to £15.4bn.