Rolls-Royce, GE Aviation planning layoffs
INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — Two manufacturers with a major presence in Indiana have announced plans for significant reductions in their workforce. Rolls-Royce and GE Aviation have not specified how many Hoosier workers will be affected by the moves.
Rolls-Royce, which has a large operation in central Indiana, is planning to lay off some 8,000 employees worldwide, according to a report from the Financial Times. The report says the majority of the cuts will come from the company’s civil aerospace unit with many of the affected employees being in the United Kingdom.
A spokesperson for Rolls-Royce released the following statement:
“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented. We have taken swift action to increase our liquidity, dramatically reduce our spending in 2020, and strengthen our resilience in these exceptionally challenging times. But we will need to take further action. We have to do this right, which means we are working closely with our employee and trade union representatives and then we will consult with everyone affected. We have promised to give our people further details of the impact of the current situation on the size of our workforce before the end of this month.”
GE Aviation, which has facilities in West Lafayette and Terre Haute, says it is developing a plan for permanent workforce reductions that could affect up to 25% of its employee base.
David Joyce, chief executive officer of GE Aviation, discussed the plan in a message to employees:
“These plans, which we expect will be ready over the coming months, are part of a comprehensive strategy we are developing for resizing the business consistent with the forecast of our commercial market. While extremely difficult, I am confident this is the required response to the continued contraction of the industry, and its protracted recovery. I am equally confident that the industry will recover over time and that we will be positioned to win.”
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