Rolls-Royce confirms 3,000 job cuts across the UK

Engineering giant Rolls-Royce, which makes jet engines, will cut 3,000 jobs across the UK.

It is part of a previously-announced cost-cutting exercise that will see the company slash its global workforce by a fifth, following a drastic fall in air travel because of the coronavirus.

The firm's base in Derby is expected to bear the brunt of UK job losses, with 1,500 roles expected to be axed.

And 700 jobs will go at the company's Renfrewshire plant in Scotland.

Rolls-Royce has begun the process by offering voluntary redundancy to everyone in its UK civil aerospace division.

The first staff could leave the firm as soon as July.

The Covid-19 pandemic has grounded planes across the globe and the aviation sector has warned that it could take several years for passenger numbers to return to pre-virus levels.

The scale of these job cuts has raised fears that entire factories could close as the company plans to save £1.3bn.

Thousands of staff have already been furloughed and last month senior managers at Rolls-Royce described the pandemic as a "deep crisis".

While the bulk of UK job losses are in the East Midlands, the company has sites at 30 other locations across the country.

Air travel has ground to a virtual standstill since the coronavirus began spreading across the world and many airlines have announced steep job cuts.

Global air traffic is expected to decline by 45% this year, according to investment bank Baird. It also forecasts that airlines are expected to lose $310bn (£253bn) in revenue in 2020.