Photo: Land Rover
Looking at the ever increasing numbers of Range Rovers out there, you could be forgiven for thinking that the company is doing very well. However, according to an unconfirmed report, Jaguar Land Rover might slash as many as 5,000 jobs in the UK next year.
Although the automaker has not announced how many workers will be cut, people close to the matter told The Financial Times that it's in the region of 5,000 people. These will be in addition to the 1,000 people laid off at the Solihull factory where the Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover models are manufactured.
JLR anticipated slowing sales in China because many customers would put off purchases until after a cut in import taxes. However, the market didn't bounce back fully, and they registered a 46% drop for September alone. The Chinese now want electric cars, and local automakers have responded much better to this trend.
“It’s do or die at the moment,” Robin Zhu, an analyst from Bernstein in Hong Kong said. “JLR has been seriously mismanaged in recent years, with cost runaways, products disappointing in the market, and hedging issues costing it billions. Meanwhile, there’s arguably been a lack of accountability in the management ranks.”
JLR has Boston Consulting Group to put together a turnaround plan designed to save £2.5 billion over the next two years. It includes cutting costs by £1 billion, but it's believed the lineup will be severely trimmed down.
So within the next 18 months, you could see slow sellers like the Jaguar XE being abruptly cut. CEO Ralf Speth warned PM Theresa May that a bad Brexit deal could be terrible for the local automakers, a few shared by his peers. Of course, it's expected that production may be switched to North America or other European countries, such as Slovakia.
Although the automaker has not announced how many workers will be cut, people close to the matter told The Financial Times that it's in the region of 5,000 people. These will be in addition to the 1,000 people laid off at the Solihull factory where the Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover models are manufactured.
JLR anticipated slowing sales in China because many customers would put off purchases until after a cut in import taxes. However, the market didn't bounce back fully, and they registered a 46% drop for September alone. The Chinese now want electric cars, and local automakers have responded much better to this trend.
“It’s do or die at the moment,” Robin Zhu, an analyst from Bernstein in Hong Kong said. “JLR has been seriously mismanaged in recent years, with cost runaways, products disappointing in the market, and hedging issues costing it billions. Meanwhile, there’s arguably been a lack of accountability in the management ranks.”
JLR has Boston Consulting Group to put together a turnaround plan designed to save £2.5 billion over the next two years. It includes cutting costs by £1 billion, but it's believed the lineup will be severely trimmed down.
So within the next 18 months, you could see slow sellers like the Jaguar XE being abruptly cut. CEO Ralf Speth warned PM Theresa May that a bad Brexit deal could be terrible for the local automakers, a few shared by his peers. Of course, it's expected that production may be switched to North America or other European countries, such as Slovakia.
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