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BRITAIN’S LARGEST CARMAKER Jaguar Land Rover has announced 4,500 job cuts and US carmaker Ford has said that it plans a major restructuring of its European operations, including job cuts.
The cuts come as part of the company’s ongoing programme to deliver £2.5 billion in cost reductions and cash flow improvements over an 18-month period.
It also follows 1,500 workers who left the company during 2018.
The next phase of the programme will begin with a voluntary redundancy programme in the UK, the company said in a statement today.
“We are taking decisive action to help deliver long-term growth, in the fact of multiple geopolitical and regulatory disruptions as well as technology challenges facing the automotive industry,” Jaguar Land Rover CEO Ralf Speth said.
The company also announced plans to begin producing electric drive units (EDU) at its Wolverhampton centre. These EDU’s will be assembled at a new Jaguar Land Rover assembly centre located at Hams Hall in the West Midlands.
Ford cuts
Meanwhile, Ford has announced a number of job cuts, as it plans a major restructuring of its European operations.
The new strategy is aimed at cutting structural costs and redesigning the product lineup for commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles and imports, it said.
“We are taking decisive action to transform the Ford business in Europe,” Steven Armstrong, group vice president and president for Europe, Middle East and Africa said in a statement.
Ford did not specify the number of projected job cuts, but said it hoped to achieve them through voluntary redundancies.
“Structural cost improvements will be supported by reduction of surplus labour across all functions –- salaried and hourly,” it said.
Among concrete steps in key markets Ford said it will end production of small automatic transmissions in Bordeaux, France.
In Germany, it plans to end production of the C-Max and Grand C-Max in Saarlouis in response to a shrinking market in Europe for compact multi-purpose vehicles.
In Russia, Ford said it will launch a strategic review of its joint venture Ford Sollers, with several restructuring options on the table.
Ford also plans to consolidate its UK headquarters and Ford Credit Europe’s headquarters at the Ford Dunton Technical Center in South East Essex.
Ford employs around 53,000 people at its wholly-owned facilities in Europe – over a quarter of its worldwide total.
The company has been making cars in Europe since 1911.
With reporting by AFP
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And just opening a software development base in Shannon. #brexit
@Harry Trafford: Likely the poor growth of land rover and jaguar in China, low sales of diesel cars and them getting into the hybrid ecar scene too late.
@Earl of Daventry: Brexit fallout..
@Earl of Daventry: JLR have both all electric and hybrid models of some of their cars – the ipace, Range Rover, Jaguar XE.
@Paul Whitehead: Nothing at all to do with Brexit. Most cars produced by JLR in recent years were diesel, and the shift to hybrid and electric vehicles has put them on the back foot.
If that’s your logic then check out the massive growth by Honda, Toyota and BMW in the U.K.
@PC Principal: Its only starting, wait and see what happens AFTER Brexit, the fun has not started not by a long shot.
@Graham Murphy: yes but they’re late to the game fam
@Peter Hughes: I work for a FTSE 100 engineering firm in the U.K., which predominantly exports products globally. Our CEO has told us that there is no cause for concern. I’ll take his word over yours.
@PC Principal: If this is the case your firm does not trade with the EU by and large, because if it did trust me he would not be saying that at all.
@Paul Whitehead: I know I am the first to slam the english, but I do feel sorry for the workers and their families who will be impacted by this news. Wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
@Peter Hughes: We have sold equipment in more than 70 countries in the past three decades, and if you think this is about trade with the EU then you’ve missed the point entirely. Membership of the EU, or even May’s deal restrict the UK’s freedom to expand to new markets without prior approval from the EU. That’s why there’s a push for no deal.
The EU is in big trouble economically, Germany and France already talking about a potential recession – check the news.
The fact is, Europe has experienced the least amount of economic growth in the past 20 years, and that includes Antarctica.
@PC Principal: The EU has been slow but aside from that it is still the worlds largest trading block. And cutting access to it to start to replace it with smaller economies is not smart anyway you look at it. Especially when you are an island surrounded by it.
Germany may well slip in to recession in Q4 but likely once the emmisison issue is fixed bounce back to growth. It is still at 2% for 2018 and close for 2019.
@Peter Hughes: Jeeze, you believe anyone, anywhere, losing their job is “fun” – good luck to you, grand fella you are.
Dreadful news, with Leyland (Rover) gone now this, Birmingham and the West Midlands have been decimated.
Generations of my family worked at the Longbridge plant , spraying new cars and fitting parts, they worked there for the war effort during WW2 too.
Now the Solihull plant is being hit, low paid jobs in retail are the only options for many.
Very, very sad- the British Government should be ashamed of themselves over the last 30 years
@David Grey: There’s always the White Ladder royalties to fall back though…right…
@David Grey: shame most of the cars were terrible
@David Grey: Ever been to Sunderland?
Ford are pricing themselves out of the car market for ordinary people.
@Billy McNamara: Ford have abandoned the car market completely in the US to concentrate on trucks and SUVs.
@Billy McNamara: Ford are making money on the Vans that they sell but are losing money on every car they make. Source: Autocar magazine (this weeks edition)
Jag are out dated , never moved with times , it has stigma of old mans car, at the end of the day it’s a Mondeo
@wiggy: Yo
Most of the vehicles they make there are diesel….No market for diesel anymore…..
This was reported everywhere WEEKS ago. Slow day lads?
Jag are out dated , never moved with times , it’s and old mans car, at the end of the day it’s a Mondeo
@wiggy: Not since the mid 2000’s. If you look at their new products they are ahead of the Germans. But you know best
@wiggy: they’ve just released a fully electric SUV
@wiggy: the jaguar xf car is beautiful and was looking at it for my next car and I don’t consider myself a dinosaur https://www.google.com/search?q=jaguar+xf&prmd=inv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiY79TozuPfAhXNTxUIHfpPCLsQ_AUoAXoECBAQAQ&cshid=1547137183723&biw=360&bih=560#imgrc=jU6-cYGAyNl7ZM
@wiggy: I disagree. Every now and again jaguar pull something out of the hat. Look at its latest sports car & land rover is still a stand alone brand.
One does not have to be Einstein to figure out that Brexit is going to deprive UK manufacturers, especially Auto Manufacturers, of nearly 90% of their market.
On a PPP basis, The UK GDP is $3 Trillion while the EC is $28.3 Trillion:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)
There was a Bloomberg TV article today which said virtually all UK based auto manufacturers will likely relocate post Brexit.
The reason that UK auto manufacturers went broke years ago is because of economy of scale and poor product quality. While foreign owners have improved product, their exclusion from the EC free market will snooker them vis-a-vis EC based manufacturers, IMO.
The Land Rover is a terrible looking car. The number plate at the back is totally askew. If that can’t get that right….
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