Unions demand Rolls-Royce terms

Derby is expected to bear the brunt of the job losses

Union leaders are demanding to know where Rolls-Royce redundancies will fall, following the aero-engine giant's decision to shed 3,800 jobs in the UK.

Half of the job losses are expected to fall at the firm's Derby base, but workers at the company's plants in Bristol, East Kilbride and Glasgow have yet to find out how many redundancies they will suffer.

It appears that engineering workers are to be the indirect casualties of terrorist activities

Andrew Dodgson, TGWU

The Scottish regional council of the Amalgamated Engineering & Electrical Union (AEEU), which met on Saturday to discuss the implications of the decision, agreed a four-point plan to prevent further redundancies.

The AEEU has urged other firms not to take short-term action by laying off workers, demanded there be no compulsory redundancies and called for government aid for the manufacturing sector.

Unions want state aid similar to that agreed for farmers hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis, to counteract the slump in airline demand in the wake of the US atrocities.

'Angry workers'

Danny Carrigan, Scottish Regional Secretary, said after Saturday's meeting: "Our members are very angry that the manufacturing and engineering industry seems to be disappearing out of sight.

"Many of our members have already been made redundant following the downturn in the electronics industry.

"Now it appears that engineering workers are to be the indirect casualties of terrorist activities."

Earlier Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) spokesman Andrew Dodgson said shop stewards at the Rolls-Royce plants would be seeking meetings with managers as soon as possible.

He said: "We would expect these meetings sooner rather than later.

Aerospace job cuts this year

Boeing:
30,000

Honeywell:
6,500

United Technologies:
5,000

Rolls-Royce:
5,000

Bombardier:
3,800

"There have been complaints about the level of information being given out and the amount of consultation with unions, given that redundancies have been on the cards for some time."

A spokesman for Rolls-Royce said meetings at all sites between management and union officials would be carried out "in due course".

The cuts follow a review of the company's prospects in the wake of the 11 September terror attacks, and will affect 5,000 employees worldwide.

Aid has been ruled out by Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt, who maintained the government would do all it could to help those made redundant.

Union leaders had earlier warned the firm, which employs 43,500 people in 48 countries, against a knee-jerk reaction to the slump in the wider aviation industry.

Cost-reduction plan

Rolls-Royce has said it will reveal details of the regional breakdown over the next few weeks.

In addition to the 5,000 cuts, some 1,000 contract workers will also be shed, the firm said.

Although Rolls-Royce said some sectors of its business would be unaffected, it warned that sales at its civil aerospace business in 2002 were likely to be some 25-30% below this year's.

This fall represents a loss of some £1bn in trade.

Demand for civil aircraft engines is plummeting

Friday's cuts replace a programme announced earlier in the year, under which 2,000 jobs were to be lost as part of a three-year cost-reduction plan.

More than 50% of Rolls-Royce's business is with civil aerospace customers.

It makes engines for a wide range of commercial aircraft including the new long-range Airbus A340 and the Airbus A380 super-jumbo, which has yet to go into commercial operation.

Both Airbus and rival aircraft maker Boeing have confirmed that many airlines have asked for delays in the delivery of aircraft and that new orders have fallen sharply.

Rolls-Royce's US competitor United Technologies - which owns Pratt & Whitney - has already cut thousands of jobs.

In the City, Rolls-Royce shares, which lost 6% on Thursday, closed up 2.75p at 137p on Friday.