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Dyson to cut a quarter of its UK workforce
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Dyson is cutting around 1,000 jobs in the UK, more than a quarter of its workforce in the country.
Employees at the maker of vacuum cleaners and air filters were informed Tuesday morning of the layoffs, which are part of a broader initiative to reduce the company’s 15,000-person global workforce, according to people familiar with the matter.
The job cuts are a blow to the UK and come on the same day that new Secretary of State for Business Jonathan Reynolds gathered more than 100 business leaders on a call to set out their priorities.
From Dyson The largest market is Asia, where the company competes with local rivals who often produce similar-looking products soon after those manufactured by the company.
“Dyson operates in increasingly fierce and competitive global markets where the pace of innovation and change is only accelerating. We know we always need to be entrepreneurial and agile,” said Hanno Kirner, chief executive.
“We have grown rapidly and, like all companies, we review our global structures from time to time to ensure we are future-proof,” he added, saying cutting jobs was “always incredibly painful”.
The review that led to the resignations began before the U.K. general election, called in May, according to people familiar with the process, and the resignations are unrelated.
Dyson employs around 3,500 people in the UK. The company did not say how many roles would be cut worldwide, with reviews taking place on a country-by-country basis.
The company, which is still overseen by founder Sir James Dyson, has grown beyond its initial specialization in vacuum cleaners to products that include hair dryers, fans and air purifiers. Its engineers are working on dozens of potential projects, many of which are never made public.
Dyson in 2019 abandoned a £2 billion effort to move into electric vehicle manufacturing, although it will continue to work on batteries for its wireless products.
The UK cuts are expected to affect all departments, including management. Britain is expected to remain a research and development hub for the company and will still be its main product development hub, although some of that work already takes place in Singapore.
But the job cuts risk further complicating perceptions in the UK of the company’s founder, one of the country’s most successful inventors and entrepreneurs.
The billionaire lost a defamation battle last year against the editor of the Daily Mirror over an article that branded the industrialist a “hypocrite” for supporting Brexit but then moving his company’s headquarters to Singapore.
The company said at the time that Brexit was not a motivating factor for the move, which it said was for commercial reasons, noting that most of its customers and all of its manufacturing operations were in Asia.
Sir James Dyson said in December that the UK’s current political leaders, from both the Conservative and Labour parties, were not “looking for growth” and that “wealth creation and growth” had become “bad words”.
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New Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have put “growth” at the heart of their ambitions for the UK but have faced persistent accusations from opponents that they will need to raise taxes.
The Dyson founder clashed with former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt at a meeting at 11 Downing Street in March, which was described by observers as “fiery”. According to a person familiar with the exchange, Hunt asked the businessman, “If you think you could do a better job, why don’t you just run for office?”