Dyson to axe around 1,000 jobs in Britain; Singapore 'not directly impacted'

LONDON: Vacuum cleaner manufacturer Dyson will cut about 1,000 jobs in Britain, more than a quarter of its workforce in the country, as part of a global restructuring.

The company, founded by James Dyson, the inventor of the bagless cleaner, employs 3,500 people in Britain, including at its R&D centre in Malmesbury, west England.

CEO Hanno Kirner said on Tuesday (Jul 9): "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. As such, we are proposing changes to our organisation, which may result in redundancies.

"Dyson operates in increasingly fierce and competitive global markets, in which the pace of innovation and change is only accelerating. We know we always need to be entrepreneurial and agile – principles that are not new to Dyson."

When contacted by CNA, Dyson said its headcount in Singapore, which serves as the company's global head office, is "not directly impacted" by Tuesday's announcement. 

As well as its revolutionary cyclonic cleaners, Dyson makes air purifiers, hair dryers and other appliances.

It started moving manufacturing from Malmesbury to Malaysia in 2002, and opened a plant in Singapore in 2013 to make digital motors.

In 2019, it moved its corporate office to Singapore to be closer to its manufacturing sites and Asian markets that accounted for much of its sales.

The move was controversial given James Dyson's support for Britain to leave the European Union in 2016. The company however said the decision had nothing to do with Brexit.

Dyson continued to invest in research and development and product design in Britain, including working on an electric vehicle until the project was abandoned in 2019.