Rolls Royce plans to cut ANOTHER 400 jobs bringing this year's total to 1,000
BRITISH aero-giant Rolls-Royce is to cut 400 jobs from its marine division on top of the 600 already announced as axed earlier this year.
A submarine is lowered into the water and driven by Rolls-Royce engines
Falling oil prices have been blamed for the lay-offs which have led to cancelled ship orders from struggling energy clients.
Rolls-Royce’s Marine business employs around 5,800 people in 34 countries, and supplies a range of technology and services for aval, merchant and offshore vessels, with around 60 per cent of the firm's customers in the oil and gas-related sector.
The job are to be shed globally and predominantly from office and administration positions.
The firm is now a separate company to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, which BMW holds the rights to.
Rolls-Royce is a top airplane engine maker
Rollys-Royce has a factory in Derby
Mikael Makinen, Rolls-Royce president of marine, said: “After many years of strong performance through to 2013, led by good growth in the oil and gas sector, our order book and profitability have been adversely impacted by the sharp and subsequently prolonged drop in the price of oil.
"This is a fundamentally strong business, but we have to take decisive action to position it for future growth, with a structure that is simple, efficient and effective. At the same time we will sharpen our focus on the marine technologies of tomorrow by significantly increasing our current rate of investment in research and development.
"Reducing our workforce is never an easy decision, but the continued weak oil price, and the need to become more competitive, means it is necessary, if we are to build a strong base from which we can successfully grow this business in the future.”
The changes are expected to save the firm £40m over the year with smaller benefits from 2016 onward.
Rolls-Royce Motors is a separate company to the engine maker