A MAJOR employer in a Wiltshire tourist town is planning to cut 170 jobs.
Dyson is proposing a reduction of around 170 back-office roles at its Malmesbury campus - equivalent to around 10 per cent of the technology company’s UK workforce.
The business, founded by Sir James Dyson in 1991, says although it is currently recruiting in creative and engineering roles, it is proposing the cuts to better reflect its focus in the UK as its primary creative and inventive hub.
An anonymous source has told Newsquest the reductions are impacting sectors including IT.
The move does not affect the £7.8 million donation from Dyson charitable arm The James Dyson Foundation – recently increased from £6m - for an upgrade to Malmesbury Primary School in Tetbury Hill.
For Dyson employees whose redundancy is ultimately confirmed, the company will be providing out-placement assistance.
Affected staff can receive three months of unlimited career coaching, job-search guidance and support with CV-writing, preparing for interviewing and navigating job boards.
A Dyson spokesperson said: “The UK is Dyson’s primary creative and inventive hub.
“While we are currently recruiting creative and engineering roles, we are proposing to reduce some back-office roles.”
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Dyson designs and creates household appliances like vacuum cleaners, hand dryers and hairdryers.
Its UK research, design and development campus in Malmesbury was established in 1993.
This is the base for more than 1,700 Dyson people (historically more than 3,500 people), as well as being the home of the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology, which aims to develop engineers by combining academic programmes with work on future Dyson products and proper responsibility.
A 10th cohort of 35 Dyson Institute undergraduates will arrive at the technology campus this September.
The hub, which is spread across 50 acres, is also home to Sir James and his son Jake.
Plans to create a Dyson-backed science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics centre at Malmesbury Primary School were given the go-ahead by planners on Wednesday, July 8.
As of October, a quarter of children enrolled at the primary had a parent who worked at Dyson, whose Malmesbury campus is located near the school.
Members of Wiltshire Council’s Northern Area Planning Committee voted by eight votes to one to approve an application to extend the school.
This expansion will see capacity at the primary increase from 420 pupils to 630.
Dyson moved its headquarters from the UK to Singapore to be nearer its manufacturing and supply-chain hubs and Asian customer base in 2019.
