Singapore-headquartered Dyson to axe 1,000 jobs in Britain

Dyson employs 3,500 people in Britain, including at its R&D centre in Malmesbury, west England.

SINGAPORE – Singapore-headquartered Dyson announced on July 9 that it would lay off about 1,000 of its 3,500 staff in Britain as part of a global restructuring. In total, the company has some 14,000 staff worldwide.

When asked about the fate of its almost 2,000 staff here, the multinational technology company said there was no direct impact from the announcement and declined to comment further.

ST understands that due to rules in Britain surrounding the retrenchment exercise, the company is legally unable to shed further light on the situation at this stage.

“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,” said chief executive Hanno Kirner in a statement on July 9.

“As such, we are proposing changes to our organisation, which may result in redundancies,” he said, adding that the company needed to be “entrepreneurial and agile – principles that are not new to Dyson”.

Dyson said in February that its global revenue grew 9 per cent to £7.1 billion (S$12.3 billion) in 2023, while its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) – a measure of profitability – climbed to £1.4 billion.

The group, which moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2019, had been ramping up its operations on the island.

It had signalled in 2020, and then again in 2022, that it would hire 250 technical and scientific experts here. Since then, the number of engineers and scientists has swelled to almost half of its almost 2,000 staff in Singapore.

This is because the country plays a significant role in the development of new products, as a node in its global network of research and development laboratories. 

In May 2023, Dyson said it had made its “most significant investment in advanced manufacturing in the firm’s history” when it started work on a new 247,000 sq ft plant in Tuas.

The factory will make next-generation batteries to power the firm’s future products and is expected to be fully operational by 2025.

Commenting on the layoffs, Mr Kirner said: “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.” 

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