Rolls-Royce may cut thousands of jobs in turnaround plan

Rolls-Royce Holdings could cut thousands of jobs after the company hired consultants led by McKinsey & Co to advise on streamlining its operations, The Times of London reported.

Part of the turnaround plan will see the combination of non-manufacturing departments in each of the company’s civil aerospace, defence and power systems divisions, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified consultancy source. As a result, 10 per cent of around 30,000 jobs in these departments could be eliminated, the report said.

The company’s headquarters in Derby are likely to be hit hardest by the cuts, The Times said, noting that most of its back-office administration functions are based in the city. Rolls-Royce said that a decision had yet to be made regarding its workforce.

“We are working at pace on our transformation across a number of work streams; and only one part of one of those work streams is about realising organisational efficiencies,” a spokesperson said. “We have made no decisions whatsoever on any potential impact on employees; and any suggestion otherwise is pure speculation.”

Rolls-Royce chief executive officer Tufan Erginbilgic has initiated a transformation programme at the manufacturer, including some key management changes. 

The global aviation industry is struggling with output amid a lack of spare parts and skilled labour, coupled with disruptions stemming from sanctions against Russia, which supplies components such as titanium for aircraft engines. Bloomberg

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