Jaguar Land Rover, owned by India's Tata Motors, said it will shed roughly 4,000 positions during the coming two years. The move comes as the luxury automaker contends with tougher competition from Chinese brands at lower price points, fallout from a cyberattack, and U.S. trade tariffs under President Donald Trump.
JLR aims to carve out roughly £1.7 billion in savings over the next two years and push its break-even volume lower to 300,000 vehicles. CEO PB Balaji also said the company will roll out five new products in the coming 12 months. As Balaji put it, "The automotive industry faces significant challenges, with technological change amidst intense competition and ongoing geo-political uncertainty." He added, "As part of this transformation, we will reduce our global workforce by around 4,000 roles over the next two years. We recognise this will be difficult news for colleagues affected, and are committed to supporting everyone with care, fairness and respect."
U.K. Business and Trade Minister Jonathan Reynolds said there would be no government rescue for the company over the weekend and is expected to meet JLR executives early this week to discuss the redundancy plans. A government spokesperson told CNBC, "We understand that this will be an uncertain and concerning time for affected workers, their families and wider communities," while highlighting measures to support the sector: lower electricity costs for manufacturers, £4 billion in capital and R&D funding to build zero emission vehicles, and a £2 billion Electric Car Grant to spur EV purchases. The cost-cut push is also being viewed as a new test for Prime Minister Andy Burnham after comparable cost-cutting at Aston Martin and Bentley over the past few months.
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Tata Motors shares in Mumbai edged up 0.3% on Monday and are up more than 10% so far this year. And it is not just British marques under pressure. Late last week, Volkswagen said it intends to eliminate a further 50,000 jobs within a historic transformation plan, citing tariff headwinds and the same intense competition from Chinese carmakers. For everyday investors, the takeaway is simple: carmakers are racing to rework costs, lineups and technology at the same time, which can make for bumpy headlines before the benefits show up.
