Rolls-Royce has revealed plans to shut down civil aircraft jet engine plants for two weeks this summer to curb losses resulting from the pandemic.
First reported in the Sunday Telegraph, the firm’s plans will not impact the energy or defence divisions.
Rolls Royce is now looking to establish an agreement with unions. Wages lost would be spread across the year.
The company is looking to avoid further use of the furlough scheme. It said: “Unilaterally claiming furlough for all employees across the UK Civil Aerospace business in a pre-planned way is not consistent with the intent – nor is it, we believe, within the spirit – of the scheme, as workload is not impacted across all areas.”
The news follows Rolls-Royce cutting around 7,000 roles during 2020 as part of a target to remove at least 9,000 roles by the end of 2022.