Rolls-Royce yesterday piled pressure on Andy Burnham to back its plans to re-enter the £1.6 trillion narrow-body jet engine market, or risk 40,000 jobs going abroad.
Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said talks with the Government over financial support for the project were progressing, but urged ministers to get on with making a decision.
He warned that the clock was ticking as Airbus and Boeing, the world’s two major aeroplane makers, are aiming to pick engines for their next generation of narrow-body jets in two years.
Speaking at the Farnborough Airshow, Erginbilgic said: ‘If you want economic growth, this will transform it, this will contribute significantly without any doubt. It will transform advanced manufacturing in the UK, and the supply chain.
‘Actually, we are not talking about lots of money in that context.’
