Dyson, the British appliance-manufacturing firm is trimming its workforce in the UK by about 1,000. That means, a quarter of its 3,500-strong team across offices in London, Bristol and Wiltshire will be let go.
The company, which has been manufacturing vacuum cleaners, air purifiers, hair dryers and other appliances since 1991, has a global workforce strength of about 15,000. A good 10,000 of these work out of the UK. Other locations are also in the process of reviewing their workforces for redundancies. Ultimately, how many employees will be laid off globally is yet to be known.
This restructuring, as reported by media, has been attributed to stiff competition and the speed at which innovations are sweeping across the market, especially in Asia. Hanno Kirner, CEO, Dyson, has called the decision to trim the workforce a painful one yet necessary as part of the changes planned for the betterment of the organisation. However, those impacted have been assured of the firm’s support through the transition. Interestingly, Dyson set up its corporate headquarters in Singapore, in 2019 so that it could focus better and operate smoothly from within Asia. It had already established a manufacturing plant in Singapore in 2013.
Surprisingly, the company has been doing rather well in terms of finances, posting record revenues of £7.1 billion ($9.1 billion) in 2023, which was way more than the £6.5 billion it posted the previous year.