Dyson is planning to axe as many as 1,000 of its UK jobs as part of a major restructuring, the vacuum cleaner manufacturer has announced.
The job losses would amount to more than a quarter of its UK workforce.
The engineering giant, based in Wiltshire and founded by entrepreneur Sir James Dyson, told staff in an email on Tuesday morning that the cuts would be implemented throughout the UK following a global company review.
The news comes on the day that the new business and trade secretary, John Reynolds, hosted a meeting with 170 leaders from businesses and trade associations to set out his priorities.
Chief executive Hanno Kirner said: “We have grown quickly and, like all companies, we review our global structures from time to time to ensure we are prepared for the future. As such, we are proposing changes to our organisation, which may result in redundancies.
“Dyson operates in increasingly fierce and competitive global markets, in which the pace of innovation and change is only accelerating. We know we always need to be entrepreneurial and agile – principles that are not new to Dyson.
“Decisions which impact close and talented colleagues are always incredibly painful. Those whose roles are at risk of redundancy as a result of the proposals will be supported through the process,” he added.
The company, which is best known for inventing the bag-less vacuum and also makes air treatment and haircare technology, is understood to have taken the decision before last week’s General Election.
Sales at the UK’s arm of the business fell 10 per cent in 2022, the most recent year for which accounts are available on Companies House. Meanwhile, global sales rose by £0.5bn in the same year, according to the company.
While the Dyson Institute in the UK will remain in Wiltshire and provide undergraduate engineering programmes, Asia has for many years been the company’s manufacturing base due to the market’s lower costs and potential for sales growth.
Sir James has been critical of the previous Conservative government’s approach to economic growth and business in the past, with the billionaire calling its outlook “short-sighted as it is stupid”.
As a vocal advocate of Brexit, the entrepreneur attracted controversy when, in 2019, he decided to shift the company’s headquarters from Britain to Singapore. He denied the move was related to the UK’s departure from the EU, despite Dyson taking advantage of the EU’s free trade agreement with the city-state and averting new UK-EU trade curbs.
It has recently abandoned efforts to try and develop an electric car and noise-cancelling and has launched a pair of widely criticised noise-cancelling, air-purifying headphones.
Dyson’s Zone Absolute headphones – which feature a mask that covers the user’s mouth – initially went on sale at £819.99 last year but have since had their price reduced to £579.99.
Around the world, Dyson employs more than 15,000 people.
During the Covid pandemic, Dyson cut around 900 jobs, citing a change in how customers bought products.