Luxury car and jet engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has announced that it will be cutting as much as 5% of its workforce next year because of delays by companies like Airbus and Boeing. The cuts will take place over 2009 — though it’s unknown what employees or divisions will be affected.

CEO John Rose had this to say about the layoffs:

“We are determined to maintain our focus on cost reduction and competitiveness. It is too early to determine the precise effects of the global economic downturn and program delays.”

Will someone please come up with a different phrase for global economic downturn?

[WSJ] Rolls-Royce Is Set to Cut up to 2,000 Jobs