Rolls-Royce staff receive £700 worth of shares as reward

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

Chief Executive Tufan Erginbilgic said the engine maker will give 150 shares to “every colleague, in every part of our organization” in September.

This follows this week’s half-year results, with Rolls announcing its first dividend since the pandemic.

The move was welcomed by investors who had been calling for Erginbilgic to reinstate the coveted payment.

The shares hit an all-time high on Thursday but fell 3.6 percent, or 17.2 pence, to 463.9 pence yesterday. The company has around 42,000 employees worldwide and all are keen to buy shares.

In an internal message to employees, Erginbilgic said the resumption of dividend payments marked an “important moment” for shareholders and future investors.

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

“You make the difference. That’s why it’s important that you share in our success. That’s why we’re offering you the chance to own a piece of Rolls-Royce.”

‘Turbo’ Tufan, as he is better known, joined in early 2023 as Rolls was struggling to recover from the pandemic and had racked up huge losses as planes were grounded.

But it has cut costs (expected to fall by £200m a year by the end of 2025) and paid off debt.

Last October, Rolls announced the elimination of 2,500 jobs. The share price has more than quadrupled since the start of 2023, a factor that has earned Erginbilgic the nickname “Turbo” Tufan.