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Rolls-Royce's £150m aerospace investment to safeguard 7,000 jobs

Rolls-Royce has revealed that it is to roll out a new testing facility in Derby as part of a £150m investment that will help to safeguard 7,000 UK jobs.

The engine maker has said it will invest in its East Midlands facilities over the coming years in a move that the government is hailing as a seal of approval for the UK’s aerospace sector.

The Derby-based business will create a new facility for testing large engines in the region, which it said would create up to 200 jobs, while another precision machining facility in Derby which had been threatened with closure would now remain open.

Eric Schulz, Rolls-Royce President for Civil Aerospace, commented: “With this investment, we are creating the capacity and flexibility to deliver on our goals, while committing to sustain employment in the UK.”

Business Secretary Greg Clark added: “This announcement underpins the critical role the UK plays within the global aerospace sector.

“I welcome the confidence the company is showing in the UK. This is just the investment our modern industrial strategy is looking to attract.”

The announcement, which is Rolls-Royce biggest UK investment in a decade, comes after months of wrangling with unions over the future of its UK workforce and plants.

There had been fears that the manufacturing firm would take its investment overseas, concerns which have now been allayed.

Meanwhile the company has also reached a deal with unions that will see current staff train new recruits for Rolls-Royce operations in Germany and other sites around the world, and agreed that there will be no compulsory redundancies forced upon staff within the next five years.

Unite national officer Ian Waddell celebrated the move and said that, combined with today’s investment, the efforts would help to protect 7,000 UK jobs.

He commented: “There were real fears that future investment could go overseas, but thanks to the skills, capabilities and adaptability of Rolls-Royce’s UK workforce, thousands of jobs have been secured.”