ROLLS-ROYCE has announced it is to make significant job cuts in the division that includes more than 1,300 Scottish workers.

The aerospace giant said least 9,000 jobs are expected to be lost amid the continuing coronavirus crisis, with UK factories set to be hardest hit.

Warren East, the company’s chief executive, acknowledged it is “terrible news” for employees, but added that action has to be taken to protect the business in the long term.

Negotiations will now begin with trade unions before any figures for job losses in the UK are agreed, but Mr East said most of the cuts will be in the company’s civil aerospace business.

INFOGRAPHIC: Rolls-Royce civil aerospace facilities potentially affected by job cuts

Around two-thirds of the UK employees work in the civil aerospace division, giving an idea of where the impact is expected.

About 9,000 workers are based in Derby, and Rolls-Royce’s second largest civil aerospace facility in the UK is at Inchinnan, where over 1,300 workers make compressor blades and seals.

Mr East said: “This is not a crisis of our making. But it is the crisis that we face and we must deal with it."

READ MORE: Rolls-Royce to cut at least 9,000 jobs amid Covid-19 aviation crisis 

He added: “Being told that there is no longer a job for you is a terrible prospect and it is especially hard when all of us take so much pride in working for Rolls-Royce.

“But we must take difficult decisions to see our business through these unprecedented times.”

Its next largest facility is Solihull where the company has 1,000 workers, with further sites south of the Border at Bristol and Hucknall with 800 each and 740 at Barnoldswick, with five sites where there are between 50-500 employees.

The group has also scrapped its final shareholder dividend payout to save £137 million and cut senior management and board pay by 20 per cent.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Rolls-Royce signals job cuts as air traffic grounded

Rolls-Royce said its defence business in the UK and US remains unaffected and has been “robust” throughout the pandemic.

Steve Turner, assistant general secretary of the Unite union, said: “Our members at Rolls-Royce, fearful and anxious already in the face of a pandemic, will be shocked and distressed by this news, but we say to them we have their back at this difficult time.” Shares closed 2% up.