Rolls-Royce CEO outlines plans for 9,000 job losses

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Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC is set to reveal its full-year preliminary results for 2021 today. The aerospace and defence giant is expected to show improved sales as the aviation industry continues to recover from the pandemic. However, the engine maker’s aerospace division is still recovering from the global travel shutdown. Analysts at Swiss bank UBS predict sales of £6.3billion in the second half of last year – a 27 percent rise on the previous six months.

The experts said that aerospace continues to feel the pressure as airlines are still adjusting to the pandemic, according to the Proactive investors website.

The analysts said: “We retain a more cautious view on the recovery of long-haul and corporate travel, which Rolls-Royce is overexposed to, given its widebody engine bias.”

The London-registered company, which was founded in 1884 is an iconic brand with a fascinating history.

The Rolls-Royce Merlin engine played a central role during World War 2, helping Britain defend itself against Nazi Germany.

The Royal Air Force relied on the engine during the Battle of Britain as the brave pilots took on the Luftwaffe.

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Key models of aircraft, including America’s P-51 Mustang and Britain’s Spitfire, relied on the water-cooled Merlin engine, which was introduced just before the war began.

Mike Evans, founder of the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust, explained the engine’s impact during the war to BBC News in 2012.

He said: “Without the Merlin, we would not have won the Battle of Britain and Hitler may have crossed the channel.”

By 1935, the Merlin was producing more than 1,000 horsepower, a 40 percent increase on the engine it was based on, the Kestrel.

With its origins in technologies from World War 1, the engine continued to be improved throughout World War 2.

With the help of engineer Stanley Hooker, the Merlin was upgraded to be more than 2,000 horsepower by the end of the war.

By that point, some 150,000 Merlins had been manufactured, with production having expanded across the UK and to the US.

Mr Evans said: “People had confidence in it and it went on and on being improved.

“A lot of other manufacturers were shouting that they had the best thing since sliced bread, saying ‘forget the Merlin, it is old hat’.

“But it got better and better as the war went on.

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“It was there, it could be relied upon, it would work.”

The Merlin’s supercharger gave it an edge at high altitudes over other engines at the time, helping to mark it out as a high-performance engine.

Leo McKinstry, who has written extensively about the Spitfire and other aircraft, explained its technical prowess and importance to the war with BBC News.

He said: “By preventing the Luftwaffe from gaining air supremacy over southern England, the two legendary fighters destroyed the Reich’s hopes of mounting an invasion.

“But these aircraft would never have achieved that success without the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.

“Robust and supremely efficient, the Merlin gave the RAF’s fighters the power and performance they needed to defend our skies.”

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