Lancashire jobs to go in Rolls Royce cutbacks
AERO engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has revealed details of its proposed cutbacks as it looks to try and offset declining demand across it aerospace division.
The company announced last month that it was cutting 2,600 jobs – the bulk of them within its aerospace division – as it responds to declining demand across its markets.
The company said the restructuring would see the jobs lost during the next 18 months, with the majority achieved in 2015.
However, it was warned there will be further cuts to come as it looks to stabilise its position ready for renewed growth in the medium term.
Under the cutback, its Derby headquarters is likely to bear the brunt of the job losses with around 300 jobs likely to go.
Another 140 will be lost with the closure of a turbine blade factory at Ansty Park, Coventry. The restructuring of the turbines operation is also likely to see the possible closure of a site in Derby.
More than 150 workers are also facing the axe at factories at Inchinnan, Renfrewshire; Barnoldswick, Lancashire and Hucknall, Nottinghamshire.
The company said in a statement that the restructuring was aimed at making the best use of its remaining facilities. It said the headcount reductions were being made to ensure the company’s long-term future and blamed the challenging market conditions for the cuts.
It said last month that the worsening conditions were likely impact revenue for 2014 compared with 2013, with estimates of a 3.5% to 4% decline (previously guided as flat), excluding an adverse foreign exchange translation estimated at £500m.
Union leaders have said the job losses represent a huge loss of key manufacturing skills to the UK economy. Unite said it feared the company would eventually have to outsource the jobs overseas to plug the skills gap when business picked up. It has urged the company to give a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.
The company’s UK workforce is employed at four locations in the Midlands, as well as 1,500 at five sites in the North West and 2,400 employees at six locations across Scotland.
