Rolls-Royce slashes up to 2,500 jobs in bid to ‘create more agile business’
Rolls-Royce has announced plans to cut up to 2,500 jobs worldwide in a cost-cutting drive, as it looks to streamline the business under new chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic.
In a statement on the London Stock exchange this morning, Rolls said it estimated that 2,000 to 2,500 jobs would be axed from the companies’ 42,000 strong workforce.
The aerospace manufacturer said the plans would “create a more agile business that is better able to serve customers and continue to create and maintain world class products.”
The cuts come after mounting speculation that Rolls intends on restructuring its engineering division and continues Erginbilgic’s drive to boost the companies’ profits after years of losses.
Tufan Erginbilgic, who was appointed in January, said: “We are building a Rolls-Royce that is fit for the future. That means a more streamlined and efficient organisation that will deliver for our customers, partners and shareholders.
“Our business is full of committed, talented people and I believe these changes will enable them to build greater capability in areas that are key to our long-term success. This is another step on our multi-year transformation journey to build a high performing, competitive, resilient and growing Rolls-Royce.”
Under the changes, the FTSE 100 firms’ engineering, technology and safety division will merge into a single team across the group, with Grazia Vittadini , the group’s chief technology officer, making way for Simon Burr in April 2024.
The move will sit well with analysts in the City who have long believed the business has significant space to boost its efficiency.
Shares were up over two per cent on Tuesday morning.
Tufan Erginbilgic took over from longtime chief Warren East earlier in the year, whose sudden exit knocked off £1.5bn of the companies’ value.
The outspoken boss said in May areas of the company had been “grossly mismanaged,” adding that it was a “burning platform” which needs to cut debt and improve profits.
Sky News first reported the job cuts last night, with the announcement confirmed by the company as market’s opened this morning