Rolls-Royce set to deliver 200 fewer plane engines as aviation sector shrinks

Rolls-Royce will deliver 200 fewer passenger jet engines this year as it warned aviation will take years to recover from Covid-19.

Echoing comments made by airlines, the company said the sector would become smaller after coronavirus and take “several years” to recover.

Less travel is hurting the company because it gets paid for the amount of time airlines keep planes — fitted with Rolls-Royce engines — in the air.

The company said flying hours had dropped 90% in April as airlines grounded their fleets.

To combat the downturn, it unveiled a raft of actions to head off the issue today at its annual general meeting.

Delivery of wide-body civil aviation engines will fall to 250 this year from a previously forecast 450 as manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus scale back production.

Talks with unions are also ongoing over redundancies. Reports have suggested 15% of Rolls’ 52,000 workforce — some 7800 — could go in a restructuring. Around 4000 staff have already been placed on furlough through the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which expires at the end of June.

In a boost for shareholders, the company said a cost-cutting drive unveiled last month had found an extra

£250 million of savings, taking the total to £ 1 billion.

Chief executive Warren East said the firm had “rapidly adapted” the business to ensure its future.