Rolls-Royce, the British engineering company which has issued four profit warnings in just over a year, said it was scrapping a layer of senior management in the first move by new boss Warren East to turn the business around.
Under the changes the heads of five units – civil aero-engines, defense, nuclear, marine, and power systems – will report directly to East. Tony Wood, head of aerospace, and Lawrie Haynes, head of the land and sea division, will also leave the company next year.
East, who took the helm at Rolls-Royce in July, wants to cut the company’s cost base and improve decision making in a bid to save between 150 million pounds and 200 million pounds ($304 million) a year.
A chief operating officer will be hired from outside the company next year, Rolls-Royce said in the statement on Wednesday, adding that it will provide a further update on the cost and range of the savings plan in February.
Rolls-Royce has over the last two years repeatedly unnerved investors with its negative forecasts and a warning in November that it could cut its dividend.
The number of people affected by the shake-up announced on Wednesday was less than twelve, a spokesman for the company said.
news source & image credits: economictimes.indiatimes.com
