Jaguar Land Rover has revealed that it will close one of its Midlands factories - either the Solihull Land Rover plant or the Castle Bromwich Jaguar factory - after 2014.
JLR, which is owned by Indian manufacturing giant Tata, is looking to consolidate its manufacturing operations, which are currently spread across three factories.
In the short term there will be no job losses, as workers' unions recently brokered an agreement to protect JLR jobs, but the car maker will decide which plant it will close within 18 months.
Sweetening the blow is confirmation that the Range Rover LRX is definitely set for production. As a result the firm's Halewood plant on Merseyside will definitely escape the axe, as the LRX will be built there, creating around 800 new jobs in the process.
JLR's CEO, David Smith, said: "This is a plan that recognises the impact the economic collapse has had on our business, and at the same time the opportunities that lie ahead for these two great brands."
Of course, it's tough out there for luxury manufacturers at the moment, but we reckon it would be a crying shame if Jaguar had to turn off the lights at Castle Bromwich. Combined with the relatively recent death of the firm's spiritual home in Brown's Lane, Coventry, that would leave JLR without a 'proper' Jaguar facility - Halewood used to make Escort vans, for goodness sake!
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