Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced its intention to reduce its workforce by 500 jobs in an effort to cut costs amidst a significant decrease in sales. The UK-based company stated that the job cuts, which represent 1.5% of its employees, will be carried out through a voluntary redundancy program.
The recent struggles of JLR can be attributed to the impact of the US trade war. The firm temporarily halted exports to the US, its largest foreign market, in April following an increase in tariffs on cars to 25% by Donald Trump. Although this rate was later reduced to 10% under the US-UK trade agreement, it only applies to vehicles manufactured in the UK. Additionally, the deal limits annual car exports to the US to 100,000 models, with the higher tariff applying to any cars exceeding this threshold.
The uncertainty surrounding tariffs, combined with the planned phasing out of older Jaguar models, resulted in a 15% decline in sales to just over 94,000 units in the three months leading up to June. JLR’s decision to implement job cuts coincided with the UK’s jobless rate reaching a four-year high.
Sir Keir Starmer, in a statement to JLR employees back in April, pledged to safeguard their jobs. Following the US-UK trade agreement in May, the company assured that the deal would uphold this commitment. A spokesperson for JLR mentioned, «As part of normal business operations, we regularly offer eligible employees the opportunity to depart from JLR through limited voluntary redundancy schemes.»
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Image: Sir Keir Starmer addressing JLR workers in April, promising job protection.
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