LONDON, Jan 11 (KUNA) — Engineering giant Rolls-Royce said Friday it plans to cut up to 2,300 jobs to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
The job losses come as the firm seeks to ward off the impact of high raw material prices and a weak dollar.
The cuts will affect the company’s operations in the UK, US, Germany and the Nordic countries, Rolls-Royce said in a statement.
The losses will come among managerial, professional and clerical staff, it added.
The firm, a major manufacturer of engines for planes and cars, employs about 39,500 people in 50 countries, with 23,300 in the UK.
Rolls-Royce declined to say how many jobs would be lost in the UK, but said it would try to make the cuts through voluntary redundancies.
Mike Terrett, Rolls-Royces chief operations officer, said, “We are determined to create a leaner and more agile support structure, better suited to the global markets in which we operate.” For its part, the “Unite” union said that the job cuts were disappointing given the firm’s healthy order book.
A spokesman said, “Any jobs lost are disappointing but we will not accept any attempt to make compulsory redundancies.”