Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said it will cut around 4500 jobs – about 10% of its workforce – with the majority being in the UK. The move is an attempt to counter the effects of a slowdown in China and a drop in demand for its diesel-powered vehicles.
Jaguar. Photo: Marco Verch / ccnull
Photo: Marco Verch / ccnull. Licence: CC-BY
However, the company also said it will commence production of electric drive units at its Wolverhampton engine plant in England and will establish a new battery assembly centre at Hams Hall near Birmingham as part of a long-term strategy to develop more environmentally friendly vehicles.
"We are taking decisive action to help deliver long-term growth in the face of multiple geopolitical and regulatory disruptions as well as technology challenges facing the automotive industry," said CEO Ralf Speth.
The cuts are expected to mainly apply to workers in the UK, including contractors, senior management, supervisors, engineering, and design workers, while production-line workers are unlikely to be affected.
JLR employs about 40,000 people in Britain. The 4500 job cuts are in addition to 1500 people who were laid-off in 2018.
The company lost £354 million pounds between April and September 2018. Yesterday it reported a 4.6% drop in full-year 2018 sales to just under 600,000 vehicles.
The company, owned by India’s Tata Group, announced last year a turnaround plan that calls for savings of 2.5 billion pounds in 18 months. Of that total, 1 billion pounds will come from cutting 500 million pounds each from its investment plans for the 2019 and 2020 financial years, the company has said.
JLR has warned of further losses in the event of the UK leaving the EU with a poor trade deal or no deal.
Back to Homepage
Back to Transportation