Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has announced plans to increase its manufacturing workforce by 50 per cent.
The company says it has created more than 150 new jobs to support the production of the company’s new model, the Rolls-Royce Ghost.
It is expected that by the end of 2009 Rolls Royce will have created almost 400 new jobs in under two years, bringing the total number of employees based at Goodwood, West Sussex to 900.
The majority of the new positions have been created in the wood, leather and paint shops, as well as the assembly areas.
The company added that there will also be a number of new positions in the headquarter offices, also based at Goodwood.
‘This is good news for the British car industry at a time when it is struggling,’ said Tom Purves, chief executive of Rolls-Royce.
‘Britain has an exceptional talent for automotive production and we are keen to maximise this at Rolls-Royce.
'Our new model, the Ghost, has enjoyed an extremely positive international response, and we now need to put people in place to bring the car to market.’
The Rolls-Royce Ghost will be built on its own assembly line but will share paint, wood and leather workshops with the Phantom series of cars.
Rolls-Royce has expanded all areas of its manufacturing facility over the last two years to prepare for the introduction of the Ghost model.
Production will begin in the autumn, with customer deliveries from early 2010.
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