GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO WORK CLOSELY WITH JAGUAR LAND ROVER OFFICIALS TO MITIGATE THE IMPACT OF JOB LOSSES

At the weekend Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced the need to cut 4,000 jobs due to falling sales, US tariffs and a major cyber-attack.

The flagship British luxury carmaker employs circa 34,000 people in the West Midlands with an additional 120,000 people employed in the supply chain, often performing highly specialised roles with no market equivalent.

The 4,000 redundancies will reduce JLR’s workforce by approximately 12%. Further impacts on the supply chain are yet to be quantified, but it paints a bleak picture for this Midlands employer which has a huge impact on the local economy.

Commenting on this, LibDem MP Manuela Perteghella for Stratford-on-Avon said:

“A lot of JLR employees live in my constituency, so this is high on my list of concerns, and I have raised these with executives at JLR.

“Last years’ cyber-attack, falling sales and Trump’s tariffs are three of the major headwinds that have contributed to the decision.

“The former Tory Government relied too heavily on the so-called special relationship with the USA. Trump’s self-harm, crash and burn style policies are damaging interests with countries throughout the world.

“It underlines once again that trade with European partners is vital to maintain a stable economy. Now more than ever we need to invest in international relationships of mutual benefit.”

Manuela called for the Government to act:

“Andy Burnham’s Labour Government have already confirmed that there will be no bailout, but there is still a lot they can do to support the business.

“The Government must seek to protect Brand Britain from Trump’s America and hostile cyber-attacks that have dark roots from across the globe. We need stronger protections against cyber attacks and a switch in strategy that moves us towards new markets and opportunities in this changing global landscape."