Rolls-Royce to cut 400 marine division jobs: FT

(Reuters) - Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC <RR.L> may announce a reduction of 400 management jobs in its marine division this week, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Chief Executive Warren East's aim with the marine restructuring will be to strip out management layers and rebase costs in a business that relies on an energy industry now hit by low global oil prices, the FT said. (http://on.ft.com/1FNOEY5)

The job cuts are part of a long-term plan to shift the marine operations' manufacturing away from high-cost Scandinavian countries towards Asia, while retaining research and systems integration in northern Europe, FT said.

In defense of the job cuts, the paper said East could also argue that once the marine business has stabilized, it could lead to increased spending on technology in the division after years of under-investments.

Rolls Royce spokesman Richard Wray declined to comment.

In November 2014, Rolls-Royce said it would cut 2,600 jobs over 18 months, mostly in its aerospace division, as part of a plan to boost profitability in that part of the business, where margins have lagged bigger rival General Electric <GE.N>.

(Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Gareth Jones)