Engineering news
Rolls-Royce has been warned it faces the threat of industrial action over job losses.
Unite said it will resist any compulsory redundancies in the firm's aerospace division "by every means open to us".
The union said jobs could be lost at sites in the UK from as early as July under planned cutbacks.
Rolls-Royce has already come under fire from politicians and Unite for offshoring engineering jobs to India after it revealed plans to open an aerospace design centre in Bangalore. Employees at Rolls-Royce in Derby learned of the plans in March, which will see 500 “CAD specialists” recruited in Bangalore to handle both domestic and international projects, said the Unite union.
The news comes after Rolls-Royce’s UK workforce were told last November that 2,600 jobs had to be axed in its aerospace division over an 18-month period as part of a global restructuring exercise. The cuts have so far led to the proposed closure of Derby’s precision manufacturing facility, with the loss of 300 jobs, and a turbine blade machining plant in Ansty, Warwickshire, with the loss of 140 jobs. The company also plans to cut more than 200 jobs at factories in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, and East Kilbride.
In a letter to the company's chief executive, John Rishton, Unite accused Rolls-Royce of off-shoring UK manufacturing jobs, said: "Given the company's order book and level of profit, we see no reason for the proposed job losses in the UK other than they are the result of choices the company has made to move work elsewhere. This is nothing less than the export of UK manufacturing jobs.
"We therefore wish to give you notice that we will not tolerate compulsory redundancies in the UK, whether through workload reductions, management reviews, outsourcing or off-shoring.
"We will resist compulsory redundancies by every means open to us, including industrial action."
Unite national officer Ian Waddell said: "The UK workforce is world class and has proved time again to be at the cutting edge of engineering and manufacturing.
"They have shown their loyalty in building up Rolls-Royce, but are now feeling increasingly betrayed over the company's continued refusal to give assurances on jobs and guarantees over redundancies.
"The workforce is at snapping point and industrial action will become a very real possibility unless Rolls-Royce gives a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies."
A Rolls-Royce spokesman said: "We have been engaged in constructive dialogue with union representatives since the restructuring was announced in November last year.
"We have reiterated to the union, in response to their letter, that it is essential that we get closer to our customers, respond to volume changes, rationalise our footprint and reduce our overheads so that we can compete and continue to secure profitable growth.
"We have also made it clear we seek to achieve any employee reductions by voluntary means, wherever possible, and we have confirmed our commitment to exploring opportunities to mitigate the need for compulsory redundancies."