Rolls-Royce is to safeguard over 7,000 jobs following its decision to invest £150m into new and existing civil aerospace facilities in Britain.
The company said the investment will support the planned doubling of engine production, and help to provide additional capacity as next generation aero engines are developed and tested.
Most of the investment will provide a new facility for the testing of large civil aero engines in Derby, the home of Rolls-Royce’s civil aerospace division. The new testbed will be capable of testing a range of engines including the Trent XWB, which powers the Airbus A350 XWB and is the world’s fastest selling civil large engine with over 1,600 on order.
There will also be investment in Rolls-Royce’s large engine Maintenance Repair & Overhaul (MRO) facility in Derby, plus manufacturing facilities in Derby and Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. Rolls-Royce said it is also committed to retaining the Precision Machining Facility (PMF) in Derby, which was set to close.
Eric Schulz, Rolls-Royce, President – Civil Aerospace, said: “This investment comes at a time of unprecedented growth in Rolls-Royce. We are doubling the production of new engines at the same time as introducing three new engines to the market.
“With this investment, we are creating the capacity and flexibility to deliver on our goals, while committing to sustain employment in the UK and I would like to thank the unions for their support in delivering this important package of investment.”