Rolls-Royce cuts up to 2,500 jobs in an overhaul of the U.K. jet engine maker : NPR

A visitor takes a photo of the Rolls-Royce jet engine of the Airbus A350-1000 parked at the static display area during the Singapore Airshow on Feb. 7, 2018, in Singapore.

Yong Teck Lim/AP

hide caption

toggle caption

Yong Teck Lim/AP

A visitor takes a photo of the Rolls-Royce jet engine of the Airbus A350-1000 parked at the static display area during the Singapore Airshow on Feb. 7, 2018, in Singapore.

Yong Teck Lim/AP

Jet engine maker Rolls-Royce said Tuesday it’s cutting up to 2,500 jobs globally as part of a corporate overhaul that its new CEO is carrying out.

The aerospace company was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic that decimated demand for air travel. Tufan Erginbilgic, who took over as chief executive in January, said the layoffs are aimed at making Rolls-Royce “more streamlined and efficient.”

Rolls-Royce, based in Derby, central England, didn’t disclose where jobs will be cut, but around half of its 42,000-person workforce is based in the United Kingdom.

The cuts will remove duplication and bring cost efficiencies in the latest stage of its “multi-year transformation,” the company said.

“We are building a Rolls-Royce that is fit for the future,” Erginbilgic said.

The company slashed 9,000 jobs globally in 2020 as it grappled with the collapse of air travel during the pandemic.

The new turnaround plan also includes creating a new company-wide procurement division that can take advantage of Rolls-Royce’s size to cut costs and reduce supply chain delays.