Covid-19 forces 9,000 job cuts at Rolls-Royce

The company said that the commercial aerospace market will take several years to return to pre-Covid-19 levels and is instigating a cut in expenditure – including plant and property – that will save over £1.3bn on an annualised basis.

Roll-Royce has a workforce of 52,000 and the reduction in headcount will account for around £700m in savings. Union Unite said it will leave 'no stone unturned in our fight to protect skilled jobs'.

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In a statement, Warren East, Rolls-Royce, CEO said: “This is not a crisis of our making. But it is the crisis that we face and we must deal with it. Our airline customers and airframe partners are having to adapt and so must we.

“Governments across the world are doing what they can to assist businesses in the short-term, but we must respond to market conditions for the medium-term until the world of aviation is flying again at scale, and governments cannot replace sustainable customer demand that is simply not there.”