Rolls-Royce plans to cut 2,300 jobs

DERBY, England, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Rolls-Royce, the British aerospace company, plans to create a "leaner and more agile support structure" by cutting 2,300 management and clerical jobs.

Most of the job losses are expected to be in Britain, The Independent reported. But operations in Germany, Scandinavia and the United States will also be streamlined, with 6 percent of the company's worldwide workforce eliminated.

Rolls-Royce does not plan to lay off manufacturing employees. Executives hope to use voluntary buyouts, the report said.

Rolls-Royce is one of the world's largest manufacturers of aircraft engines and the 16th largest defense contractor globally. The car division, which turns out the famous Rolls-Royce and Bentley makes, was split off in 1973.

Chief Operating Officer Mike Terrett said the company's bottom line has suffered from the weak dollar and more expensive raw materials. But he said the main goal of the job cuts is Rolls-Royce's long-term health.

"We are determined to create a leaner and more agile support structure, better suited to the global markets in which we operate," he said. "The investments we have already made in new management systems will help us deliver this simplified organization."