Triple blow as UK car giants reveal cutbacks

Firms set to reduce jobs and production

THE CAR industry has suffered a triple blow as three of the UK’s biggest manufacturers announced job and production cuts.

Car giant Jaguar Land Rover is to reduce its 44,000 workforce by 4,500 under plans to make £2.5bn of cost savings. Most of the cuts will be in the UK, with a voluntary programme being launched, and are in addition to 1,500 workers who left the company last year.

Ford signalled “significant” cuts among its 50,000-strong European workforce under plans to make it more competitive and make its business more sustainable.

Japanese firm Honda later announced six non-production days in April under contingency plans to mitigate the risk of disruption to production at its Swindon factory after the UK leaves the EU.

Ralf Speth, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), said: “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.”

The company also announced further investment in electrification, with electric drive units to be built at its factory in Wolverhampton and a new battery assembly centre at Hams Hall in Birmingham.

JLR has sites in Halewood on Merseyside and Solihull, Castle A TRADE union says it is working with Ford over job losses.

Unite national officer Des Quinn said: “Unite is positively engaging with Ford over its plans as we seek to safeguard jobs.”

He added: “We expect the immediate impact on Ford’s UK operations to be limited.”

On the JLR cuts, Mr Quinn said: “With record levels of new investment and models set to come on stream in its UK factories, we look for Jaguar Land Rover to continue to be a global success and the jewel in Britain’s manufacturing crown.”

He said car workers suffer because of the Government’s “botched handling of Brexit”.

Bromwich and Wolverhampton in the West Midlands.

In October last year, the car giant unveiled a £2.5bn turnaround plan that included cost cutting after Brexit uncertainty and slowing demand in China left it nursing a hefty second-quarter loss.

The firm, owned by Indian conglomerate Tata, booked a £90m pre-tax loss in the three months to September 30, which compared with a £385m profit in the same period in 2017.

In China, demand was adversely impacted by consumer uncertainty following import duty changes and escalating trade tensions with the US.

In the UK, “continuing uncertainty related to Brexit” was blamed.

Ford started consultations with unions, with details of job cuts not expected until later in the year, although staff based at Warley in Essex will move to Dunton. Steven Armstrong, Ford’s European group vice president, said the company was taking “decisive action” to transform its European business.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said Jaguar Land Rover was offering voluntary redundancy packages to its UK workforce, adding: “The Government has and will continue to work closely with the business to ensure that it can succeed long into the future as it invests and transitions to autonomous, connected and electric vehicles.”

Honda said: “Honda has been assessing how best to prepare for any disruption caused by logistics and border issues following the UK leaving the EU on March 29. To ensure Honda is well placed to adjust to all possible outcomes, we are planning six non-production days in April.”

We are taking decisive action to help deliver longterm growth.

Ralf Speth, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover.