Rolls-Royce Holdings will give £ 2,000 in cash to almost three-quarters of its UK workforce, making it the last major British employer to help employees cope with growing pressures on the cost of living.
Sky News has learned that the aeronautical engineering group informed thousands of employees on Monday that it was offering a lump sum, as well as a 4% pay rise from March to 11,000 workers at its UK manufacturing plants.
It also intends to provide a lump sum of £ 2,000 to another 3,000 junior managers, bringing the total number of beneficiaries of the company’s decision to 14,000.
A total of 20,000 people work for the UK engine manufacturer.
A source who saw the note circulated to staff said junior managers would receive the money in August, while union members would receive it after the offer was accepted by Unite, which represents thousands of Rolls-Royce workers.
Derby and Bristol staff will represent the majority of the recipients of the extra money, which will be a total of a 9% increase in the salaries of 11,000 workers in the shop, according to one insider.
Image: The company has 20,000 employees in the UK
The lump sum will cost Rolls-Royce £ 28 million, while the retroactive salary increase will bring the total cost to more than £ 40 million, the source added.
The man describes the salary increase as the largest in the company for more than a decade.
The amount is not small for a business that, according to City analysts, will barely recover in terms of cash flow this year.
However, Warren East, the outgoing CEO of Rolls-Royce, is said to have decided that the move was essential to maintaining morale among a workforce that has endured turbulent years.
He allegedly told the workers in the note: “We are living in exceptional times, with economic uncertainty, largely driven by the continuing impact of the global pandemic and, more recently, the war in Ukraine.
“All of this affects each of us at home, at work and in our pockets.”
The pandemic prompted Rolls-Royce to announce thousands of job cuts as the global aviation industry nearly stopped.
She was also forced to raise hundreds of millions of pounds by selling new shares as well as refinancing her debts.
Rolls-Royce follows Lloyds Banking Group, the UK’s largest lender, in providing additional salaries to employees to help them cope with rising household spending.
A number of supermarkets, including Asda and Morrisons, have also increased workers’ wages in recent weeks.
A Rolls-Royce spokesman declined to comment.
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