Filton-based Rolls-Royce workers braced for job losses as aerospace giant announces cuts
Rolls-Royce employees at the Filton base in South Gloucestershire are bracing themselves for swinging job cuts.
UK factories are set to be the hardest hit after the aerospace giant announced plans to lose 9,000 jobs - mostly from its civil aerospace business - because of the coronavirus crisis.
Negotiations will now begin with trade unions before any figures for job losses in the UK are agreed, but around half will be achieved by the end of the year.
The cuts will mainly affect frontline jobs and also office staff, and apprenticeships are also expected to be affected.
Warren East, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce said the company was having to "adapt" alongside its airline customers and air-frame partners.
As well as the Filton site outside of Bristol, Rolls-Royce also has large factories in Derby, Glasgow, and Lancashire.
Rolls-Royce announced the news as demand for aircraft, and the engines it manufactures, slumps across the world.
They warned earlier this month that flying hours for its engines dived by 90% in April as airlines around the world temporarily grounded large proportions of their fleets.
The company has furloughed around 4,000 workers in the UK under the Government scheme to pay some of the wages of people affected by the crisis.
It projected that the cuts could result in £700 million in savings towards anoverall aim of £1.3 billion in annual savings.
Rolls-Royce CEO Warren East told a press briefing that no Government support could replace lost customer demand, adding that the impact on commercial aviation will last beyond the short term.
Thousands of jobs are now also at risk in companies that supply Rolls-Royce with goods and services.
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