Ansty staff fears after company announces plans to axe 2,600

Rolls-Royce has announced plans to cut 2,600 jobs over the next 18 months - bringing fresh worries for staff at the company’s Ansty plant.



The engine giant has said it must shed the jobs to become a “stronger and more profitable company” and even warned about more possible cuts in the future.

Its main UK factories are in Bristol and Derby, while a workforce of several hundred repairs and maintains military aircraft engines at Ansty.

The job losses will mainly impact on the firm’s aerospace operation and come after proposals to cut nearly 400 roles at the site in Ansty were put on the table last year. Rolls-Royce is looking to relocate defence work on military planes, helicopters and ships over the coming years.

Union bosses have described the decision as a “bitter blow to a proud workforce” and warned Rolls-Royce of future skill shortages.

Rolls-Royce currently employs over 55,000 people in 45 countries, with more than 17,000 of these being engineers.

It has customers in more than 120 countries, including more than 380 airlines and leasing firms, 160 armed forces, 4,000 marine customers including 70 navies, and 1,600 energy and nuclear customers.

But Rolls-Royce revealed last month that it expected profits in 2015 to fall by three per cent as customers delay or cancel orders due to worsening economic conditions.

Chief executive John Rishton said: “We are taking determined management action and accelerating our progress on cost. The measures announced today will not be the last, however they will contribute towards Rolls-Royce becoming a stronger and more profitable company.

“We will work closely with employees and their representatives to achieve the necessary reductions on a voluntary basis where possible, while making sure we retain the skills needed for the future.”

Unite national officer Ian Waddell said: “Rolls-Royce is danger of making decisions in the short-term that it will later regret.

“Engineering skills and expertise are already in short supply across the aerospace industry and will be difficult to replace should there be an up-turn in business.

“We will be seeking guarantees over no compulsory redundancies and seeking assurances that the company doesn’t turn to casual labour to plug the skills cap in the future or seek to offshore skilled UK jobs.

“This is a bitter blow to a proud workforce and we will be doing everything we can to fight for jobs and skills.”

RR Ansty have been on borrowed time for years.

Sadly, RR doesn't have a clue of the skills within that complex.

Rolls-Royce job losses: Derby and Ansty to bear brunt



Hundreds of jobs are set to be axed at Rolls-Royce factories in the UK under plans for a worldwide cutback, it has been announced.

Derby, where it employs about 12,000 workers, will bear the brunt of the cuts, with about 300 jobs set to go.

Another 140 jobs are set to be lost at its plant in Ansty, Warwickshire.

The proposed job losses are among 2,600 worldwide scheduled for the next 18 months, mostly from the firm's aerospace division.

Roll-Royce said restructuring of its turbine business would lead to the possible closure of a site in Derby and one at Ansty.

Unite union officer Tony Tinley said: "These cuts are a huge loss of skills to the UK economy and will result in Rolls-Royce outsourcing high-tech manufacturing jobs overseas to plug the skills gap

"There is a real danger that Rolls-Royce is making decisions in the short-term which it will later regret, and it needs to give a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies."

The union said the engineering firm needed to give assurances over its long-term future in the UK.

MP warns 450 jobs at risk elsewhere because of Ansty cuts



About 450 jobs could be lost as a knock-on effect of cuts at Rolls Royce in Ansty, an MP claims.

Some 150 jobs will go as Rolls Royce looks to close its turbine blade machining facility at its plant at Ansty, near Coventry.

But Coventry South MP Jim Cunningham believes the knock-on effect will actually be much greater - with more jobs going elsewhere in the supply chain.

Rolls Royce is also looking to close its precision machining facility in Derby by 2017.

Derby, which employs 190 workers in its precision machining facility, could also see a further 110 jobs axed from its base - with another 130 jobs roles to be cut across the UK and Germany - including factories at Inchinnan near Glasgow, Barnoldswick in Lancashire and Hucknall in Nottinghamshire.

These losses are part of the proposals announced last month by the company to reduce its headcount by 2,600, mostly within the firm’s aerospace division.

The news has been criticised by Coventry MPs and local business leaders who say the announcement will be a massive worry for workers - especially at this time of year.

Jim Cunningham MP, Coventry south, said: “Although Rolls Royce announced it would be making cuts about two weeks ago, today is the first we have heard about how it will effect Ansty and the first time we have been made aware of the 150 jobs at risk.

“There are a couple of points to be raised here. The first is that Rolls Royce seem to be moving away from this country more and more. Now, about 60 per cent of their work is done outside of the UK and outsourcing is a real concern for workers and shop stewards at Rolls Royce.

“We have to ask Rolls Royce again what their intentions are for UK operations and equally as important, what the future holds for the Ansty site.

“Also, when they say that 150 jobs are at risk at Ansty, that is not really the full extent of the problem. For every job at Ansty, there are two or three jobs at risk in the supply chain. So really you are looking at 450 jobs which could be lost as a result of these proposals.

“I am in the process of trying to arrange a meeting with trade unions for the new year to look at these latest developments. There are a number of questions we need to address now that we know the full scale of the problems.

“This is obviously an awful time for staff at Ansty, especially less than two weeks before Christmas. There will be a great deal of uncertainty for them.

“But I will continue to fight to keep these jobs at Ansty and will leave no stone unturned. This facility is very important as it helps keep Coventry and Warwickshire on the map and it is important that Rolls Royce continues to have a strong presence in the region.”

Peter Burns, president of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “This gives more clarity to the news that came out a few weeks ago about possible job losses at Ansty. The Chamber is well placed to help those involved and obviously this will be a massive worry for them especially at this time of year.

“We do not yet know the implications for the Ansty plant as a whole but we do have a buoyant economy, particularly in engineering and manufacturing, and we would hope that any staff hit by this will be able to find suitable employment.”

In a statement, a spokesman for Rolls Royce said: “As part of this restructuring process we’re looking to make the best use of all our facilities and we are proposing to consolidate our turbine machining operations, subject to consultation and a detailed feasibility assessment.

“These proposals would involve consolidating our low volume part production, maximising our supply chain and transferring complex machining operations into our modern Turbine Blade Facility in Derby. With this and the Advanced Airfoil Machining Facility in Crosspointe, Virginia we are able to utilise our newer, cost competitive facilities.

“If our assessment validates our approach, this would result in the closure of our turbine blade machining facility at Ansty and the precision machining facility in Derby during 2017. This would lead to a reduction of approximately 340 roles.

“We also need to balance our workforce to the size of the workload we have in our internal supply chain facilities. As a result of reduced workload, we are proposing a reduction of 240 roles in the UK and Germany.

“These reductions are all part of the 2,600 already announced. We recognise that this is a difficult time for those affected and we will work with local employee representatives to achieve this reduction by voluntary means wherever possible.

“It is never an easy decision to make changes and propose reductions in our workforce, but it is a sign of the increasingly competitive market in which we operate. The measures we have outlined to our employees will contribute towards Rolls-Royce becoming a stronger company in the long-term.”

More Rolls-Royce Ansty closure fears as new plan exposed



FEARS Rolls-Royce will close its entire Ansty site are mounting following new proposals to outsource more operations, we can exclusively reveal.

Staff sources told the Coventry Observer of a company briefing last week regarding future production of fan cases for the family of Trent civil aircraft engines.

The engineering giant has now confirmed its latest plans to us - and did not re-state its previous assurances it had 'no plans' to close Ansty.

Staff sources say the defence operation is already being wound down this year, with the completion of remaining work on Marine engines which have served the Royal Navy for decades.

News is anxiously awaited within six weeks on the third part of the site - the turbine blades facility - which is set for closure.

A Rolls-Royce announcement in November proposed closing the turbine facility by 2017, with 140 jobs lost from among some 450 staff at the whole site.

On the expected confirmation of closure of the turbine facility, union Unite claims a long-term skills gap will be created by measures to outsource high-tech manufacturing jobs overseas.

Roll-Royce wants to consolidate its complex machining operations in the turbine facility at Derby, and Virginia USA, as part of a restructure its aerospace division globally involving 2,600 job losses.

It comes amid cutbacks in government military spending.

In February, Coventry South Labour MP Jim Cunningham said he and the unions had assurances from Rolls-Royce in a meeting with ministers that it had 'no plans to close Ansty'.

He said: "They've been very vague about what the proposal is for Ansty."

Staff sources fear the site will become unviable with only the fan case facility remaining.