Rolls-Royce workers rewarded with £700 every in shares

Boost: Boss ‘Turbo’ Tufan Erginbilgic

Rolls-Royce is to hand £700 worth of shares to all staff as the aerospace giant cheers a successful turnaround.

Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said the engine maker will give 150 shares to ‘every colleague, in every part of our organisation’ in September.

It follows half-year results this week, with Rolls announcing a first dividend since the pandemic.

The move was cheered by investors who had been calling for Erginbilgic to reinstate the prized payout.

Shares flew to a record high on Thursday but fell back 3.6 per cent, or 17.2p, to 463.9p yesterday. It has around 42,000 people worldwide and all are set to get shares.

In an internal message to employees, Erginbilgic said that the resumption of the dividend payout marked an ‘important moment’ for shareholders and future investors.

He added: ‘These results have been made possible thanks to your hard work and our collective actions.

‘You are making the difference. It is therefore important that you share in our success. That is why we are giving you the opportunity to own part of Rolls-Royce.’

‘Turbo’ Tufan, as he is better known, joined at the start of 2023 when Rolls was struggling to recover from the pandemic and had racked up mammoth losses as planes were grounded.

But he has cut costs – expected to fall by £200m a year by the end of 2025 – and paid down debts.

Last October, Rolls announced 2,500 job cuts. The shares’ value have more than quadrupled since the start of 2023, a factor that has earned Erginbilgic his nickname of ‘Turbo’ Tufan.