Jaguar Land Rover to cut 4,000 jobs worldwide
British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover announced plans to cut around 4,000 jobs globally over the next two years as it seeks to reduce costs and strengthen its finances. The company, hit by weaker sales, supply disruptions and last year's cyberattack, will simultaneously invest up to £18 billion in new technologies.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Britain's largest carmaker, announced on Monday plans to cut around 4,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years — nearly one in ten of its roughly 43,000-strong global workforce. Chief executive PB Balaji said the automotive industry is facing significant challenges, including technological change, intense competition and geopolitical uncertainty.
The reductions will be carried out through a voluntary redundancy programme focused mainly on salaried and management positions rather than direct manufacturing roles. The company said the resulting savings would lower the number of vehicles it needs to sell annually to break even to around 300,000.
At the same time, JLR plans to invest between £15 billion and £18 billion over the next five years in electrification, digital technology, advanced manufacturing and customer experience, while launching five new products over the next 12 months and renewing its focus on the North American market.
Financial pressure
JLR, which produces the Range Rover, Discovery and Jaguar brands, has recently faced weaker sales, supply chain problems, the impact of US tariffs and lingering effects from a cyberattack last year. According to its latest financial results, revenue fell 9.6% year-on-year to £6 billion in the three months to the end of June, while pre-tax profit excluding exceptional items dropped 68.9% to £109 million.
The company, owned by India's Tata Motors, manufactures most of its vehicles at UK factories employing around 34,000 people. The majority of the planned job cuts are expected to affect its UK operations, though the exact breakdown by country has not been disclosed.
The office of UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday that the government would not consider a bailout for JLR, despite acknowledging the difficult conditions facing the automotive sector. The statement coincided with Chancellor John Healey's plans to boost the UK economy.
The job cuts come amid a broader restructuring across Europe's car industry — last week Volkswagen agreed with unions on a further 50,000 job cuts by the end of the decade, bringing its total planned workforce reduction to around 100,000.
