SCORES of jobs are to be axed at the Rolls-Royce plant in Renfrewshire as part of a cost-cutting exercise.

 

The engineering giant announced last month that 2600 posts would be cut worldwide during the next 18 months.

Bosses confirmed a total of 130 jobs will go at Inchinnan in Renfrewshire, Oberusel in Germany, and Hucknall and Barnoldswick in England.

Around 300 jobs will be lost at the company's Derby plant in the first round of cuts, about half of the UK total.

And 150 jobs will be affected by the closure of a turbines facility at Ansty in Warwickshire.

The latest cuts come less than a year after 200 jobs were lost at Inchinnan.

A spokesman for Rolls-Royce said the company hoped to achieve the reduction "by voluntary means wherever possible".

He added: "It is never an easy decision to make changes and propose reductions in our workforce, but it is a sign of the increasingly competitive market in which we operate."

Tony Tinley, of the Unite union, said: "These cuts are a huge loss of skills to the UK economy and will result in Rolls-Royce outsourcing high-tech manufacturing jobs overseas to plug the skills gap in the future.

"The UK workforce is world class and has proved time and time again to be at the cutting edge of engineering.

"Rolls-Royce needs to give assurances over its long-term future and manufacturing in the UK."