LONDON (AFP) - British car and engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce is to axe senior staff and restructure its operations after a series of profit warnings, Britain's Financial Times newspaper reported on Tuesday (Dec 15).

The FT quoted the struggling company's new chief executive Warren East as saying its "operating system" would be rewritten and that the "best place to start is the executive team that will help me drive these changes through the business".

Last month, Rolls-Royce shares slumped 19.6 per cent after the company delivered its fourth profits warning in a year due to weak demand in its aerospace and marine markets.

The firm's shares have picked up slightly since then to last trade at 540.00 pence on Tuesday, but still far below this year's peak of 1,054.00 pence in April.