JLR may slash 5,000 jobs next year to cut cost
18 Dec 2018
Tata owned Jaguar Land Rover is likely to cut up to 5,000 jobs as part of a £2.5-billion overhaul programme amidst a shrinking of market and uncertainties associated with the UK government’s planned exit from the European Union, reports citing the Financial Times said.
JLR is expected to announce the cuts in the New Year. JLR had last month said it is adjusting vehicle production at its plant at Wolverhampton, central England, as a result of which 250 temporary jobs will be affected.
The company had also proposed a two-week production pause at the plant in December and had asked 500 workers to stay at home although they would continue to draw salaries during the period.
The British luxury carmaker, facing headwinds in home market, Europe and China, announced commissioning of a 1,50,000-units, 1.4-billion euro manufacturing facility in Nitra, Slovakia last month
Terming the external environment as challenging, the company said it is taking decisive actions to achieve the necessary operational efficiencies to safeguard long-term success.
JLR had earlier announced plans to cut costs by £1 billion, over an 18-month period, in response to deteriorating conditions, which led to its £90-million quarterly loss in September.
“Jaguar Land Rover notes media speculation about the potential impact of its ongoing Change and Acceleration transformation programmes … these programmes aim to deliver £2.5 billion of cost, cash, and profit improvements,” it said.
In April, the company announced cuts up to 1,000 temporary roles at its Solihull plant and temporary cuts to production schedules elsewhere.
While JLR saw its market shrinking as China demand stared fading, the company expects further negative impact from Brexit-related uncertainty on its operations.
In July, the company warned that a bad Brexit deal could cost the company as much as £1.2 billion in profit each year, putting £80 billion of further investment and jobs at risk.
Workers’ body Unite the Union said it was not aware of any further job losses beyond those already announced, and said it would press the carmaker for assurances over jobs and skills. “The government’s demonisation of diesel, its botched handling of Brexit and economic global uncertainty have seriously dented the hard work of Britain’s car workers in making their industry the jewel in the UK’s manufacturing crown,” said a spokesperson for the union.