Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed plans to cut about 4,000 jobs over the next two years as Britain’s largest carmaker battles difficult market conditions, US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the lingering impact of a cyber-attack.
The Tata-owned carmaker plans to reduce its 34,000-strong UK workforce by about 12% as part of an effort to save £1.7 billion.
Profits Hit By Tariffs, Competition And Cyber-Attack
JLR’s profits have fallen sharply amid intense competition in the global car market, Trump’s US tariffs and the cyber-attack last year that forced the company to shut down its factories.
The proposed job cuts could also pose an early challenge to new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s pledge to “reindustrialise” Britain.
JLR Chief Executive PB Balaji said: “The automotive industry faces significant challenges, with technological change amidst intense competition and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. Through our Growth Reimagined strategy, JLR is moving decisively to strengthen our competitiveness and position the business for long-term success …
“As part of this transformation, we will reduce our global workforce by around 4,000 roles over the next two years. We recognise this will be difficult news for colleagues affected, and are committed to supporting everyone with care, fairness and respect.”
Senior And R&D Roles Likely To Bear Brunt
The job cuts, first reported by the Sunday Times, are expected to fall more heavily on senior management and research and development roles than on shop-floor production workers, according to sources.
The company will seek to achieve its target through redundancies over the next two years.
Minister Rules Out Bailout
Business Minister Jonathan Reynolds has ruled out providing taxpayer-funded financial assistance to persuade the Coventry-headquartered company to abandon the planned redundancies.
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Reynolds indicated that a bailout would not be offered, although he suggested there could be other ways to support carmakers.
The government last year agreed to underwrite a £1.5 billion loan to JLR to help the company recover from the cyber-attack. However, the carmaker has not used the facility.
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Talks With JLR And Unite
Reynolds is due to hold talks on Tuesday with Balaji and Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham over the planned cuts.
Graham is expected to press JLR to prioritise retraining and redeployment over compulsory job losses if the company cannot secure enough voluntary redundancies to reach its target.
