Jaguar Land Rover to slash thousands of jobs to offset losses
The British carmaker has suffered losses as sales in China decline, demand for diesel cars weakens and the company desperately prepares for Brexit.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is expected to announce thousands of layoffs as part of a £2.5 billion savings plan aimed at offsetting losses suffered by the company.
The British carmaker was hit hard by poorer than expected sales figures in China and weaker demand for diesel cars, which saw the company record a £90 million loss in October.
The loss prompted the company to announce a £2.5 billion savings plan, with £1 billion worth of cost-cutting measures included within it.
JLR expected to cut 5000 jobs
The sheer size of the cost-cutting plan suggests that JLR will make a lot of jobs cuts, but the carmaker has not made any official statement on the subject.
However, the Financial Times did report in December last year that up to 5000 jobs could get cut by the British carmaker.
JLR, which is owned by India-based Tata Motors, has several UK factories based in Halewood, Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Wolverhampton.
Weak demand from China hurts JLR sales
According to the China Passenger Car Association, the car industry suffered its first decline in sales in China in more than 20 years, with trading down 6% to 22.7 million units in 2018.
Ongoing trade tensions between the US and China have helped make Chinese consumers more skittish and Brexit uncertainty is having a negative impact on some British companies.
JLR has also seen its sales figures suffer greatly in the wake of the VW emission cheating scandal, which has driven European consumers away from diesel-powered cars.
The British carmaker has been particularly hurt by the bad press surrounding diesel engines, with more than 80% of its cars sold with diesel engines in Europe.
This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Ltd and IG Markets South Africa Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
See an opportunity to trade?
Go long or short on more than 17,000 markets with IG.
Trade CFDs on our award-winning platform, with low spreads on indices, shares, commodities and more.
Live prices on most popular markets
- Forex
- Shares
- Indices
Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only
