ENGINEERING giant Rolls-Royce has today delivered a devastating blow to Renfrewshire by confirming 700 jobs are to be axed at its Inchinnan factory.

The company has told The Gazette the job cuts are a response to the impact the coronavirus crisis is having on the aerospace industry.

More than half of the 1,300-strong Inchinnan workforce will be axed, with Rolls-Royce chiefs hoping this can be achieved through voluntary redundancy.

Staff at the Renfrewshire factory, which manufactures compressor blades and seals for planes, have been facing an uncertain future since the company announced plans to cut at least 9,000 jobs globally.

Rolls-Royce is looking at withdrawing its entire services capability from the Inchinnan site.

Read more: MP calls for ‘honest discussion’ over threat to Rolls-Royce jobs at Inchinnan

A spokesperson told The Gazette: “Today, following constructive talks with trade union and employee representatives, we have opened voluntary severance to all civil aerospace employees in the UK.

"Offering voluntary severance is an important step as we re-size our business to adapt to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the aviation industry.

“At our Inchinnan facility, we have indicated that the likely number of impacted roles will be around 700, based on our immediate load reduction requirements.

“We hope to reach this number through the voluntary severance scheme that we have launched today with the support of Unite. These roles will be predominantly from our services team, which has seen a dramatic drop in demand since the start of the pandemic, and as a result we are considering withdrawing our services capability from the site entirely.

“We have briefed the Scottish Government and other local stakeholders on the business impact of Covid-19 on Rolls-Royce and are keeping them up to date as our consultation process progresses.

“This number of proposed job losses is a terrible prospect for the people and communities that are impacted, and we understand how devastating the news must be for everyone at the Inchinnan facility.”

Debbie Hutchings, regional officer at Unite, said: "Rolls Royce have informed workers at Inchinnan that they are now opening a voluntary redundancy scheme.

“Unite has been informed that there will subsequently be a review of the take-up of this scheme, which would then lead to a review of the site and its viability past 2020.

“The reality of the situation is that we could see 700 jobs move out of Inchinnan with vital jobs and skills being lost forever to the Scottish economy.

“The impact on the supply chain would be far reaching and it would have a devastating impact on communities and families.

“Unite repeats our call for Rolls Royce to step back from dealing a major blow to Scottish manufacturing.

“We are entering a critical phase of the process in saving the Inchinnan site, and it now requires the urgent intervention from both the Scottish and UK Governments to save thousands of jobs.”

Are you affected by the job cuts at the Inchinnan factory? If so, you can have your say by emailing editorial@the-gazette.co.uk

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