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Rolls Royce to cut 700 jobs at Renfrewshire plant, with hundreds more at risk

More than 20 per cent of jobs overall will go, with the impact of the pandemic on the airline industry to blame -  Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
More than 20 per cent of jobs overall will go, with the impact of the pandemic on the airline industry to blame - Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Around 700 jobs are expected to be axed at a Rolls-Royce factory in Renfrewshire, in a move described as “absolutely devastating” to workers.

The job cuts at the engine maker’s Inchinnan plant, near Glasgow Airport, will mostly affect people who service aircraft engines.

The company is considering closing the site altogether, which would put a further 550 Scottish jobs at risk, as part of a push to cut 9,000 jobs, around 20 per cent of the Rolls-Royce workforce, worldwide.

Rolls-Royce has said the cuts are necessary due to the coronavirus pandemic and the impact on the airline industry. Nicola Sturgeon pledged to do all she could to support the workers.

“News the workers at Rolls-Royce in Inchinnan will have got this morning is absolutely devastating and my thoughts are very much with them and their families today,” she said on Wednesday.

"These jobs are important, the Rolls-Royce facility is important and, of course, advanced manufacturing is very important in terms of the Scottish economy."

In Derby and the East Midlands, around 1,500 Rolls-Royce jobs will be cut. A spokesman for the firm said the cuts revealed would mainly affect staff in engine maintenance and servicing operations.

He added: “Following constructive talks with trade union and employee representatives, we have opened voluntary severance to all civil aerospace employees in the UK.

“This is an important step as we resize our business to adapt to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the aviation industry. We will unfortunately lose people who have worked hard to establish our world-leading position.”