Jaguar Land Rover expected to announced thousands of job cuts in bid to save £1.7bn

Jaguar Land Rover is expected to announce thousands of job cuts as part of a voluntary redundancy programme to help save £1.7bn over the next two years.

It is understood the firm is telling workers on Monday morning amid reports it will formally announce plans to slash 4,000 jobs.

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has already ruled out any government bailout for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which is Britain’s largest car manufacturer.

He has spoken to JLR chief executive PB Balaji and will meet the firm’s leadership team early this week with aims to “mitigate any job losses”.

JLR confirmed in a statement over the weekend that it is opening a voluntary redundancy programme offering salaried and management team members the opportunity to leave the business.

It is understood roles affected will be non-production with the majority of cuts affecting its UK operations, where around 34,000 staff are based.

Just under 10,000 are employed by the company overseas.

Treasury minister Emma Reynolds said car companies across the world were facing “very competitive global headwinds”.

Work was stopped for five weeks after JLR was targeted in a cyberattack (Jaguar Land Rover/PA) PA Media

European manufacturers have struggled to cope with competition from Chinese carmakers producing cheaper electric vehicles.

The Treasury chief secretary told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “My thoughts are with the workforce because we have yet to see the final announcement from the company.”

She said Mr Reynolds is “working closely” with JLR’s leadership and trade unions and the Government had already provided support to the automotive industry, including JLR in the wake of a devastating cyber attack.

“But car companies around the world are facing very competitive global headwinds as well,” she added.

Mr Reynolds told Laura Kuenssberg’s show on the BBC on Sunday: “A company the size of JLR, which is a huge British success story, at various times in its business cycle, the number of, directly, people it employs will change.

“If this is about making sure over time that the workforce is right to make the business as competitive as possible, that’s the conversation we need to have.

“Of course you want to mitigate any job losses.”

Asked if there could be financial support to protect those jobs, he added: “Not if it’s to bail people out.

“If it’s about long-term investment in the future, we do invest alongside industry on that.”

JLR continues its recovery from the major cyber attack that forced it to halt production last year.

The company makes most of its cars in factories across the UK, including at Solihull, West Midlands and Halewood, Merseyside.

Revenue at Jaguar Land Rover has been knocked over the past year (Jaguar Land Rover/PA) PA Media

A JLR spokesperson said: “Over the past three years, we have strengthened our house of brands and transformed our product portfolio for the next generation.

“As we deliver the next phase of our strategy, we need to adapt to evolving global market conditions while targeting approximately £1.7bn of savings over the next two years and reduce break-evens to 300,000 vehicles.

“To achieve this, we must further simplify our organisation, improve efficiency and build greater resilience.”

The company confirmed it had informed colleagues and trade union partners of the plans for a voluntary redundancy programme, adding it would “share further information with our colleagues first”.

A Government spokesperson said: “We understand that this will be an uncertain and concerning time for affected workers, their families and wider communities.

“We have taken significant action to back the UK automotive industry by lowering electricity bills for manufacturers, providing £4bn of capital and R&D funding to manufacture zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and launching a £2bn electric car grant to encourage people to buy EVs (electric vehicles).”

The job losses come after it revealed plans at the end of July to up to 300 jobs under its cost cutting overhaul.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Death by a thousand cuts has been going on under the nose of successive governments.

“Years of under-investment, unsustainable ZEV mandates and high industrial energy costs are crippling the industry.

“There must be further action.”

She added she would be joining Mr Reynolds in meeting JLR’s boss this week.

She said: “Unite was pivotal in securing the £1.5bn government facility for JLR after the cyber attack.

“Once again, we will leave no stone unturned to support these workers.”

JLR revealed last month that revenues fell by 9.6% year-on-year to £6bn for the three months to June 30, driven by a 9.2% decline in car volumes.

It came after production was heavily disrupted by a raft of factors, including a fire at a supplier’s factory.

Earlier this year, JLR said it planned to cut around £1.7bn in costs over the coming years to help support its turnaround.

The firm has been recovering from the cyber attack last year, which forced it to stop production at its UK factories for five weeks, weighed on sales and leading to heavy financial losses.