The move is expected to cost the company about £30m. UK workers will not be able to sell the shares for three years, after which they will be taxable, unless they are held for five years.
“Our strong first half results and the progress we are making on our transformation have been made possible thanks to the hard work and action of our people”, the company said in a message to staff.
Rolls-Royce was hit hard by the Covid pandemic, which triggered a sharp decline in global air travel, heavily impacting the firm’s commercial aerospace business which sells and services jet engines.
Tufan Erginbilgic, chief executive, launched a transformation programme in January last year shortly after his appointment, describing the struggling firm as a “burning platform” and telling staff they faced a “last chance” to change.
Rolls-Royce, which employs 21,000 people in the UK, announced plans in October to axe 2500 jobs globally, to make the company…
