|
LONDON - ENGINE manufacturer Rolls-Royce Group plc is to cut up to 2,300 jobs in Britain, Europe and the United States in a bid to trim costs, the company said on Friday.
The projected job losses, among managerial, professional and clerical staff, would be by voluntary redundancy where possible and were 'with a view to improving productivity,' the company said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.
No exact breakdown of where jobs would be cut was given. The firm said the decision was taken because of the weak US dollar and rising cost of raw materials.
Rolls-Royce chief operating officer Mike Terrett said: 'We are determined to create a leaner and more agile support structure, better suited to the global markets in which we operate.
'The investments we have already made in new management systems will help us deliver this simplified organisation.
Rolls-Royce will continue to focus on ongoing cost reduction and productivity improvements as the business grows.
' The restructuring would have no impact on the group's financial performance in 2007. Instead, costs would be balanced by savings achieved over 2008, it added.
Rolls-Royce provides engines to the civil and defence aerospace, marine and energy sectors.
At the end of November last year, it employed 39,500 people in 50 countries. Of those, 23,300 were in Britain, 8,300 in North America, 2,300 in Germany, 3,400 in Scandinavia and about 680 in Asia. -- AFP
| 
