1:00pm Thursday 20th November 2008
By Liza-Jane Gillespie
ROLLS-Royce has announced it plans to cut 2,000 jobs worldwide.
The company has said it is now in consultation with employees about the cuts, which will affect 140 jobs in the UK.
Company bosses have said the UK jobs are likely to go at its Assembly and Test facility in Derby.
However, the company has also said it was too early to be specific about the precise number and location of all job reductions, which means the 3,500 employees at its Filton factory could be affected.
Rolls Royce claims the job cuts, which would affect four percent of its 39,000 global work force, are part of the company’s strategy to deal with the economy’s recent downturn and expected delays on individual programmes, such as the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787.
Sir John Rose, chief executive of Rolls Royce, said: "We are determined to maintain our focus on cost reduction and competitiveness as the world economy enters a challenging period.
"It is too early to determine the precise effects of the global economic downturn and programme delays. However, we wanted to give all our employees an early indication of the likely scale of the job reductions we expect in 2009."
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