JLR cuts costs with plan for giant central warehouse
JAGUAR Land Rover has revealed plans to build a giant parts distribution warehouse in the Midlands in the latest phase of a £2.5bn cost-cutting drive.
Britain’s biggest carmaker is working with developer IM Properties as it seeks planning permission for the 2.9 million sq ft warehouse between Birmingham and Leicester. The new facility would gather spare parts for JLR cars from suppliers in the UK and abroad, and then ship them to dealers and garages in 80 countries.
If given the green light by council planners, the warehouse would open in 2022, consolidating on to a single site the company’s 10 smaller UK facilities that employ 1,200 people. The project – which would be operated by a subcontractor – is likely to mean job losses at Neovia and Unipart, which run the spares parts business for JLR.
Chief executive Ralf Speth has warned that Brexit could result in production stoppages at JLR’S UK plants as failure to secure a trade deal would mean disruption to its supply chains. About 40pc of parts for JLR vehicles arrive from abroad.
However, the Tata-owned company denied that the warehouse plan was related to Britain leaving the EU.
JLR said the scheme was “part of a long-term strategic restructuring and consolidation” of its global spare parts business, and was begun before the 2016 referendum, so is not Brexitrelated, nor is it to provide short-term Brexit contingency planning.
Centralising the spare parts business is aimed at saving £2.5bn in the face of losses that have prompted JLR to cut 10pc of its global workforce.
Last month, the Coventry-based company reported a £395m quarterly pre-tax loss, as the automotive sector faces falling demand and the prospect of a global trade war.