Proactive Investors - Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LON:RR)’s announcement earlier this week that it would cut thousands of jobs has led to calls on the government to hold on its contracts with the firm.
Raising concerns over where these redundancies could take place, West of England mayor Dan Norris urged the government to commit contracts to prevent staff in Bristol being hit.
“Following a call with Rolls-Royce, I gather that the security of the workforce at Bristol depends in part on the government’s commitment to continuing with these contracts and not ending or curtailing them,” he said in a letter to defence secretary Grant Shapps.
“Therefore, I am calling on you and your department to guarantee the government’s spending commitment to the Tempest and Eurofighter Typhoon contracts which will help to save Great British jobs in my region.”
Some 3,4000 Rolls-Royce staff work at the south Gloucestershire site, with many carrying out tests for the UK’s proposed next-generation fighter jet, known as Tempest.
Others at the plant provide maintenance support for the EJ200 engine, which powers the Typhoon jet - used by the likes of the German, Spanish and Italian air forces.
Rolls-Royce had said that up to 2,500 jobs could be cut globally on Tuesday, as part of cost-saving efforts and a wider efficiency drive at the FTSE 100-listed company.