Jaguar Land Rover puts 1,000 workers on a three-day week

JAgUAR land Rover is cutting production at a key plant to just three days a week as it adjusts to falling demand.

About 1,000 of its staff at the plant in Castle Bromwich will be affected by the plans – expected to be reviewed at Christmas – but there are no job cuts.

Jaguar sales in the UK have fallen 6.59pc over the year to the end of August to 21,628, while land Rover sales have fallen 9.48pc to 47,477, according to registration figures from industry body society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Overall UK car sales have fallen 4.2pc to 1.5m. About 90pc of JlR’s sales in Britain are diesel models, meaning a slump in diesel demand – down 30pc in a year – is having a big impact on the firm.

last week boss Ralf speth said if the government failed to reach a Brexit agreement with Brussels, friction at the border could make it impossible to build cars in the UK.

Former Tory minister and Brexiteer sir Bernard Jenkin accused him of scaremongering.

JlR said yesterday it is ‘committed to our UK plants in which we have invested more than £4bn since 2010’.