Dyson, a maker of vacuum cleaners and air purifiers, will be reducing its UK workforce by more than a quarter by cutting around 1,000 jobs as part of a global restructuring effort. Employees were informed of the job cuts on Tuesday morning, which is part of a larger initiative to cut 15,000 jobs worldwide.
The company, famous for its bagless vacuum cleaners, hand dryers, and bladeless fans, currently employs 3,500 people in the UK across offices in Wiltshire, Bristol, and London. The decision to make these cuts was made before the announcement of the general election in May.
These job cuts were announced on the same day that Commerce and Trade Minister John Reynolds held a conference call with 170 business and industry leaders to discuss priorities and answer questions.
Dyson’s CEO, Hanno Kilner, stated that the company operates in a highly competitive global market where innovation and change are accelerating rapidly, requiring them to be agile and entrepreneurial. While growth is a priority, the company regularly reviews its global structure to ensure it is prepared for the future, even though job cuts are “always very painful.” Kilner promised support for those affected by the cuts.
Founded in 1991 by inventor Sir James Dyson in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, Dyson conducts the majority of its product research, development, and design in the UK. The UK will remain the primary research and development base for the company, with Malmesbury housing the Dyson Laboratory.
In Asia, Dyson faces competition from local rivals and has seen the importance of Asian supply chains and customers grow. In 2019, Dyson moved its headquarters to Singapore in response to this shift. The company has expanded from vacuum cleaners to other products like hair dryers, fans, and air purifiers, and has plans to launch robotics products in the future.
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Dyson paid a dividend of 1.2 billion pounds to its founder’s Singapore-based holding company two years ago. The company has earned a total of 4 billion pounds from its tech companies over the past five years. Dyson’s founder is one of the wealthiest businessmen in Britain, with an estimated fortune of £20.8 billion as of May.
In December, Dyson lost a libel lawsuit against the Daily Mirror’s publishers after being accused of hypocrisy for supporting Brexit before moving the company’s headquarters to Singapore.
Source: www.theguardian.com
