Tata denies rumours it wants to ditch Jaguar
THE owner of Jaguar Land Rover has rubbished claims it could be poised to ditch the Jaguar brand.
Tata has reaffirmed its commitment to the Midlands car giant and denied rumours suggesting it could get rid of the iconic brand completely.
Tata bosses have written privately to Prime Minister Theresa May emphasising their commitment to the car maker.
In the wake of that Tata issued a statement, which aimed to counter speculative storie, including rumours that it planned to ditch the Jaguar brand.
In a statement Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Indian Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover, said: “I would like to clarify that we remain committed to the long-term growth and success of JLR.
“JLR will continue to face global headwinds being experienced by the auto industry and, to address them, the management is taking the right steps to drive operational excellence, whilst continuing to invest in innovative products and technology to stay competitive globally.
“There is no truth to the rumours that Tata Motors is looking to divest our stake in JLR or discontinue the Jaguar brand.”
Mr Chandrasekaran added that he had “great belief in the potential” of both JLR’s products and engineering, and said: “I am confident that these inherent strengths, coupled with the focused efforts by the management to drive performance in the medium term by improving its operational leverage, will help JLR deliver consistent, competitive and cash accretive growth in the coming years.”
The news comes two weeks after it was claimed Jaguar Land Rover is planning to announce thousands of job cuts.
JLR will reportedly announce it is axing yet more jobs in the new year, according to a national newspaper.
The move from Britain’s biggest car manufacturer comes in a bid to save £2.5 billion, it has been claimed.
It has been reported that JLR intends to axe thousands of roles amid the threat of Brexit, and sluggish sales in China.
The car giant has previously also blamed a drop in demand for diesel cars as part of its ongoing struggles.
Across the country, JLR employs 40,000-strong workforce.
The company has already cut 1,000 temporary contract workers at its plant in Solihull.
Employees returned to work in midNovember following two-week shutdown period after JLR chiefs announced a freeze in vehicle production .
It came after the luxury UK car giant announced sales had fallen by 13.2 per cent to 129,887 vehicles for the three months to September 30.
The company also reported revenues of £5.6 billon and a pre-tax loss of £90 million for the same period.
Last month, aggrieved staff at Jaguar Land Rover plants claimed there was anger and bitterness among colleagues, with one whistle-blower revealing how “most people are waiting for the axe to swing”. a