JLR confirms thousands of job cuts inbound
Further investment is due, says JLR - albeit at a cost
It would be fair to say that JLR has been through the wringer of late, what with the cyber attack, the reaction to Jaguar’s relaunch, and the ongoing impact of tariffs in North America, its biggest market. That all had to come at a cost, and now we know exactly what that will entail: the loss of four thousand jobs in the business over the next two years. Just in case there hadn’t been enough bad news.
An official statement today from JLR CEO PB Balaji confirmed the cuts. The reduction in staff is across the globe, not just in Britain, and represents around nine per cent of the workforce. So expect a variety of positions to be affected. Similarly to VW’s predicament (if slightly less drastic), JLR needs to invest in the future, but the travails of the past few years make that even harder than usual; the operation needs to be leaner to continue succeeding in an even more challenging marketplace. And when staff cuts come, it’s almost always those lower down the food chain that are impacted the most, although exactly who goes between now and 2028 isn’t confirmed for the moment.
“We recognise this will be difficult news for colleagues affected, and are committed to supporting everyone with care, fairness and respect”, said Balaji. The good news - for the business, at least - is that the boss also said that £15-18bn is coming between now and 2031 “in electrification, digital technologies, advanced manufacturing and enhanced customer experiences.” The additional investment will go alongside a target of £1.7bn in savings. Clearly, that isn’t all going on the wages of 4,000 people, so there will be a drive towards “reducing organisational complexity” and lowering JLR’s break-even point towards 300,000 cars.
But selling the cars has never really been the problem; expect the five new models that are coming over the next 12 months to fly out of the showrooms as fast as Defenders and Range Rover Sports. The issue of late has been North America, a hugely important market that tariffs have curtailed. Balaji’s statement added that JLR will “continue to leverage the strength of our brands and renew our focus on North America amongst other markets to help us deliver double-digit revenue growth.” So don’t be surprised if a few market-specific editions - chiefly very lavish ones with very large engines - emerge over the coming years. Although don’t be surprised if the gloomy news continues, either - this torrid time isn’t done yet.
Watch out, if you're a shiny-bum at JLR.....
That's the lowest hanging fruit.
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