Rolls-Royce to step up pace of cost-cutting despite slowdown in management changes

Rolls-Royce chief executive Warren East plans to cut costs further and faster after admitting to being “unsatisfied” with the pace of change at the struggling firm.

East has embarked on a drastic overhaul of the bloated engineering giant, laying off bosses and merging divisions but he wants to go further.

“If you step back there has actually been quite good progress but it has taken longer than expected. I can’t hide a slight tinge of disappointment,” he said.

“I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I wasn’t a little bit unsatisfied with the speed.”

Despite being on track to cut costs by up to £200 million by the end of next year, his target to lay off 400 senior managers - about 20% of senior workforce - by the end of 2016 has fallen behind schedule, East said.

Rolls said £200 million represented a “good start” but “significantly more” is needed to turn the ship around.

The group, which had issued five profit warnings in 20 months, is trying to speed up the tempo it makes its engines used in aeroplanes.

East also said he was keeping an eye on merging digital tech into Rolls’ products in the future.