Jaguar Land Rover to slash thousands of jobs in attempts to save £1.7 billion
As many as 4,000 jobs are understood to be at risk as JLR attempts to save around £1.7 billion over the next two years
As many as 4,000 jobs are to be cut over two years after dwindling revenue at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) following low sales, a cyber attack and US tariffs imposed by president Donald Trump.
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JLR informed workers and their union on Saturday that the company would be opening a voluntary redundancy programme for salaried and management team members.
As many as 4,000 jobs are understood to be at risk, with the company needing to save about £1.7 billion over the next two years in order to adapt to "evolving global market conditions".
About 30,000 of the company’s 44,000 employees are based in the UK, with most working at 14 plants across the West Midlands - where the company is one of the region’s largest employers.
The company has its global headquarters at Whitley, Coventry, and manufacturing sites in Solihull, Wolverhampton and Halewood on Merseyside.
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Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the union had been warning about a "perfect storm" hanging over the industry for some time, and added that she and the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, would meet JLR’s chief executive, PB Balaji, next week, after a weekend of talks to attempt mitigate job losses.
The business secretary is also understood to have spoken with West Midlands mayor, Richard Parker, about supporting the business and its staff.
Back in July, JLR said it had strengthened its brands over the past three years, and was prepared for production of its next generation of vehicles, but only predicted around 300 people would leave the firm over to cost savings plans.
The job cuts are set to disappoint prime minister Andy Burnham, who has pledged to “safeguard sovereign manufacturing” and re-industrialise Britain.
It followed former prime minister Keir Starmer's promises that Labour would underwrite a £1.5 billion loan guarantee to JLR after a cyber attack on the business halted production for several weeks last year.
As a result, the attack saw a 27% drop in overall production and cost the company about £200m - with not a single vehicle rolling off production lines for most of several weeks.
It was just one of several factors contributing to JLR posting a profit before tax of just £14 million, a staggering decrease from the £2.5 billion the year prior.
The overall cost of the cyber-attack and the subsequent loss of manufacturing was estimated to be £1.9bn, with JLR indicating at the time that savings would have to be made through cuts in areas such as materials, warranty and fixed costs.
Last month, JLR also revealed a slump in sales after a fire at a supplier's factory, along with disruption linked to the US-Iran war.
They said revenues had fallen by 9.6% year-on-year to £6 billion for the three months up until 30 June.
JLR also temporarily paused production of its Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models at its Solihull plant in March following a fire at a component manufacturer factory in Norway.
Production was also ended on numerous popular diesel and petrol-run models, including the F-Pace.
A JLR spokesman said: "Over the past three years, we have strengthened our House of Brands and transformed our product portfolio for the next generation.
"As we deliver the next phase of our strategy we need to adapt to evolving global market conditions while targeting approximately £1.7 billion of savings over the next two years and reduce break-evens to 300,000 vehicles.
"To achieve this, we must further simplify our organisation, improve efficiency, and build greater resilience.
"Today, we informed our colleagues, and Trade Union partners that JLR is opening a voluntary redundancy programme offering salaried and management team members the opportunity to leave the business. We will share further information with our colleagues first."