Jaguar Land Rover To Cut Manufacturing 1,000 Jobs

Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s biggest auto manufacturer, is cutting 1,000 jobs in the UK as the diesel scandal and slumping sales hit the beloved British brand. Now owned by India’s Tata Motors, JLR employs about 40,000 workers in the UK who produce over 500,000 vehicles a year.

Jaguar Land Rover To Cut Manufacturing 1,000 Jobs

The company is cutting the jobs at the Birmingham factory that manufactures the Jaguar F-Pace, Land Rover Discovery, and various Range Rover models.

Demand for Jaguar Land Rover cars has fallen in Europe due to fallout from the VW led diesel emissions scandal. Jaguar Land Rover pointed out that “the huge drop in demand in diesels” led to its decision not to renew the contracts of 1,000 workers.

Partially behind the decision is also said to be a sharp decline in British car sales that seems to be caused by a loss of consumer confidence. Many attribute this trend to Brexit fears, although that is hard to know for sure. What is know is that Jaguar Land Rover’s UK sales in March were down 26% compared to the same month last year. Car sales across the industry were down nearly 16%.

In a statement issued by JLR, they say:

As is standard business practice, Jaguar Land Rover regularly reviews its production schedules to ensure market demand is balanced globally.

In light of the continuing headwinds impacting the car industry, we are making some adjustments to our production schedules and the level of agency staff. We are however continuing to recruit large numbers of highly skilled engineers, graduates and apprentices as we over-proportionally invest in new products and technologies, including the latest plug-in hybrid options for the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport that are now being delivered to customers from Solihull.

We also remain committed to our UK plants in which we have invested more than £4bn since 2010 to future proof manufacturing technologies to deliver new models.

Staff